Love and War
by Dreamweaver4121
Summary: Two Amazon villages that were previously just antagonistic have plunged into full scale war. But the war is being used by those in power as cover for something far worse. Sequel to "And the Beat Goes On".
1. Summer Night's Dream

The end of the second century and the beginning of the third was a time of war that many thought would never end

The end of the second century and the beginning of the third was a time of war that many thought would never end. Ancient China, during this time, was awash in the blood of millions as warlords of all stripes vied for power and prestige. This time period in particular eventually became known as the Three Kingdoms period, named for the kingdoms that grew to be the greatest powers of the region; the Kingdom of Wu lead by the descendents of the great military tactician, Sun Tzu; the Kingdom of Shu lead by Liu Bei, a man of great virtue; and the Kingdom of Wei lead by a man of unparalleled ambition, Cao Cao.

While these three powers grew to great prominence over time, there were others who took part in the conflict that were not aligned with any of the kingdoms. Likewise, not everyone who took part in the legendary struggle were warriors seeking glory. Many fought simply for their survival. One of those factions resided in the southern provinces of China; a region known as Nan Zhong.

It was a treacherous region filled with deep forests, poisonous lakes and dangerous creatures that, at that point, were strange and unique. It was not a place one would think they would find a civilization, yet one existed and it thrived. While the people who lived in this civilization were seen as savages by the larger kingdoms, there was a complex social structure in place that wound up outliving the other kingdoms. Because over the many centuries these people, who called themselves the Nanman, migrated over the length and breadth of China and formed the modern day Amazon tribes.

Much of this part of Amazon history had been glossed over by the current generations; especially the parts that show that at one point, men were a part of the ruling class, as shown by the many kings that ruled regions of the ancient Nanman territories. One thing, however, had been passed down from generation to generation...that being the life and legacy of the Amazon legend. A figure that was purported to be the strongest woman who ever lived...

She was the daughter of the ancient god of fire – Zhu Rong.

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

Summer Night's Dream

-o-

The sun was hanging low over the western sky, marking the end of another day in the center of chaos, known as Nerima. One of the new additions, one Hayate Kurogane sat on a bench in a very familiar park. It had been some time ago when he had captured that okonomiyaki chef and held her here as bait to trap his nemesis, Ryouga Hibiki. Of course, that plan didn't pan out too well and he got beat down good even before Hibiki arrived. Leaning back in the bench, Hayate stared at the reddening sky, going over the events of his life that lead him to that forsaken town. It seemed as though all of his machinations had ended badly ever since he met the fang-toothed idiot all those years ago.

He sighed heavily and adjusted the opened collar of his dress shirt...the third one he had to wear that day. Ever since he got that damnable curse, he had been a magnet for cold water, no matter where he went. But since he arrived at Nerima, that magnetism seems to have been ramped up ten-fold. He had long since given up wearing full suits, as they ended up ruined at a rate faster than he could get new ones in. Of course, he couldn't step out without a little style. Hayate had a reputation to keep...or, since he was in a new environment, build. Fortunately, there were discount outlets a plenty where he could purchase a decent looking wardrobe without having to shell out too much cash. The quality may not have been up to his usual standards, but that was a sacrifice he had to make.

That was another score he would have to settle with Ryouga. After he finally beat his adversary to a bloody pulp, Hayate would have to send him a bill for the ruined suits.

Ah well, nothing could be done by sitting there brooding. Standing up, Hayate brushed off some dirt from one of his pant legs, picked up his umbrella and started home.

The sun sank deeper into the horizon allowing the first star of the night to appear. As the reddening sky gave way to the shimmering purple marking the onset of nightfall, Hayate couldn't help but be impressed. In his pursuit of Ryouga, he allowed some of the simpler things in life to pass him by. He had never once stopped to smell the roses, as it were and the natural beauty of the evening sky set as a backdrop to the town set his heart momentarily aflutter. As much as he had come to loathe Nerima, he had to admit, it wasn't without its merits.

"LOOK OUT BELOW SONNY!"

-WHAM!-

Of course, those merits didn't offset the reasons for the loathing. Not by a long shot. Peeling himself off of the sidewalk, he gingerly fingered the miniature boot print that was left embedded on his nose. The familiar voice sent his fluttering heart pounding in a seething rage as he was reminded there was another adversary there that needed his attention as well. Leaping to his feet, he spun around, scanning for the diminutive martial arts master that had been causing him no end of grief since he arrived.

"You won't get away from me this time, you old troll!" vowed Hayate, through bared teeth.

"Who's a troll?"

With a start, Hayate cast his gaze upwards as far as he could, finding the aforementioned troll perched upon his head. Just how in the world did he get up there, Hayate wondered. Especially since the old man still had his trademarked sack on his back...and he never even noticed until the pervert spoke.

Taking a contented puff on his pipe, Happousai peered down at the teen, "What is it about you kids anyway? Why is it you feel you have to rob an old man of his fun, hmm? Even you, who hasn't even been here for very long, feel like you have to butt into my business."

"I could care less what you do, old man," answered Hayate. "But since I've been here, what you do usually ends up with me getting beat up!" He took a swipe at Happousai, which the old man expertly avoided by hopping down of the younger man's head.

"And what have I ever done to get you beat up, kid?" Happousai asked with a straight face.

"Say what? Don't tell me you forgot what you did to me before! You shoved that sack of women's underpants on me and let that angry mob of girls beat me up, think I was in league with you!"

Happousai raised an eyebrow. This new kid sure was a bit longwinded...kinda like that Kuno fellow. "Sorry, sonny. I don't remember that at all. Maybe that was something you did on your own."

Hayate was taken aback. Flustered and blushing profusely, he blasted back, "Are you crazy? I would never do such a thing! Unlike you, I'm not the perverted type."

"That's not what I hear," Happousai said with a smirk. "I understand you've been getting around too. Like when you broke into the woman's bathhouse that time."

"That's only because YOU blew me in there with those stupid bombs of yours!"

"Details, details. Tell ya what, kid; I'll let you become my student. How does that sound? I'll teach you the best ways to get to the girls and all their goodies." He put his sack down on the sidewalk, pulled out a pair of panties and rubbed his face into them. "What do ya say?"

"Don't insult me!" Angry at the offer, Hayate took another swing at Happousai. Deftly, the old master dodged the punch and landed on Hayate's arm. After another draw on his pipe, he popped it on Hayate's hand, causing it to be burned by the hot ash. "AAAH!"

As the teen brushed the ash off and tried to cool his hand by blowing on it, Happousai bounded away with his sack of goodies. "You should rethink becoming my student, son! An amateur like yourself might get hurt trying to do what I do!"

"That no good, lousy..."

"Look! There's the old man's accomplice!"

Now what? Still wincing from the pain, Hayate looked behind him and saw another sight he had come to hate; a large mob of girls with anger in their eyes and evil intentions for him. "Would you girls please leave me alone?" he went with a sigh. "I'm not the guy you want. The old troll is. And I'm NOT in league with him either."

"Oh really?" asked the girl in the lead of the mob, one he had met too many times before, Miyabi Narita. "So tell me, what's that on your head, hmm?"

His head? What in the world are they chattering about this time? He put his still stinging hand upon his head and instead of grabbing hair as he expected, he felt lace. With an audible gulp, he grabbed the foreign object and brought it down to his field of vision. Hayate lamented his luck, "Just great. These are the same panties that old pervert was rubbing against him. When in the world did he manage to...Listen ladies, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Save it!" Miyabi snapped. "We're tired of you martial arts types using your skills to prey on poor, defenseless girls like us!" Hayate rolled his eyes. Poor and defenseless? There was a lie if he ever heard one. "That's why we recruited a martial artist of our own to take you down!" The collection of girls parted revealing a particularly stunning girl with dark brown, waist length hair and a red, embroidered Chinese dress that was ankle length, but with slits that ran back up to her waist, exposing her well toned, powerful legs. Hayate may not have been a pervert, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the beauty before him. "Her name may be Summer," Miyabi continued, "but she's going to be your fall!"

"While I would love to stay here and indulge in more of your witty wordplay," said Hayate, "I simply can't. Places to go, people to see. You understand. So I hope you'll forgive me if I take a rain check!" Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, using the patented and trademarked martial arts super jump, Hayate leapt to the top of one of the adjoining vegetable markets and headed back home at full sprint. He actually got through an encounter with the old man with minimal damage and was hoping to keep the good fortune going by escaping the misdirected wrath of the female mob.

Unfortunately, he found his escape route blocked, as the girl, using a martial arts super jump of her own, sailed over his head and landed in his path. "And here I thought those girls were just exaggerating about the perversion problem here. Seems this town could use a bit of a clean up," she said, giving him a bemused glare.

"Look...Summer, right? I'm going to tell you like I've been telling those other girls since I got here; I am NOT a pervert! I'm not the guy you're after. It's all just a huge misunderstanding." Raising an eyebrow, Summer looked down at Hayate's hand, still blistering slightly from the ash. Confused as to what she could've been looking at, he looked at his own hand and noticed he was still clutching the panties he just recently removed from the top of his head. He quickly dropped the offending women's undergarments and tried to wipe his hand clean.

"You aren't going to get off that easily," warned Summer, as she dropped into her fighting stance. "Let's just see how good of a martial artist you really are!"

Summer launched herself at Hayate with an open palmed strike to his chest. Hayate parried the attack with the handle of his umbrella and with his free hand used her momentum to push her behind him. With her out of his path, he tried to make his escape once again, leaping to the next building over. But before he could get any further, Summer managed to correct herself and she made the leap also, getting in his way again.

"Damn, she's fast," Hayate said to himself. "I guess I don't have a choice."

"As I said, you aren't going to get off that easily!" Once again, Summer charged him with the open palmed strike to the chest. And, once again, Hayate parried her attack with the handle of his umbrella. This time, however, using her free hand, Summer grabbed the arm he used to hold the umbrella and tossed him over her shoulder and down to the roof of the building. Slightly dazed, Hayate opened his eyes and found himself in a very...interesting vantage point.

"Huh...are those 'Hello Kitty' prints?"

A slight blush came up on the girl's face, at he looking up her skirt. She wasn't as sensitive to it as some of the other girls in town were, but she also didn't like the idea of someone peeking at them uninvited. She slammed her fist down, intending to put Hayate out of commission, but he rolled out of the way just in time, and her fist slammed through the market's roof.

"She's pretty strong to," he said to himself. "I'd better not take her too lightly." Deciding to turn things up a notch, Hayate took the offensive, launching a series of forward kicks to the girl's head, which she was easily able to dodge. Being as quick as she was, though, he knew she would and had no intention of landing any of those kicks. But with her attention on his feet, she paid no attention to his umbrella. After swinging and missing with a roundhouse kick, which she ducked, he made a slash at her with the pointed end of his weapon, charged with his ki.

Being down low, Summer was able to see the umbrella coming, so she was able to hop backwards just enough to keep the tip from connecting. Hayate smiled, knowing that too was a feint. Once the umbrella completed its arch, it landed in his free hand, where he pressed a button, which caused the telescopic handle to shoot outwards. The ki charged handle landed on the girl's stomach before she could react, causing her to stumble backwards.

This was his chance to put the fight away. "KIHAKU SETSUDANKI!" Swinging the tip of the umbrella back around, he fired his crescent attack, hoping to knock his opponent out.

When she heard him call out his attack, Summer regained her balance and planted her back foot to make sure her stance was solid. Then, charging her own ki into her hands, she cried out "SEISHOUKIRU!" When his crescent came into range, she sliced into his attack, cutting it in two. The two halves of his attack passed by her harmlessly, with one half crashing into the front of the market with a thunderous explosion and the other striking the back.

After the exchange, the two combatants silently stared each other down, not giving an inch. Absently, Hayate stretched, trying to work out the kinks developed in his back thanks to her hip toss. For her part, Summer rubbed her stomach, still smarting from the blow he landed with the handle of his umbrella. Deciding to break the silence first, Summer said to him, "I have to admit, you're pretty good. I never expected to find a guy like you here."

"You're not too bad yourself," returned Hayate. "Are you sure there isn't any way we could talk this out? I mean, all I wanted to do was go home, have a little dinner and then get to sleep."

"The other girls said that you were a pervert that needed to be taught a lesson. Now, where I come from, what they claimed you did wouldn't have been made this big a deal. But I promised them that I would help them combat the more perverted individuals in this town. And I have to keep my word, no matter what."

Hayate shook his head, "If you insist." He set himself back in a fighting stance and she followed suit. Though, something was different about her stance from before. Before, she had a more casual, if one could call it that, stance, riddled with possible openings...a stance a first year trainee would have had before being taught the proper posture. Her stance now was much tighter with fewer openings to take advantage of. It seemed before she didn't take him very seriously either. If she could muster that much speed and strength before, what could she have in store for him now that was serious?

There was another change in her demeanor that caught his attention. Was she...smiling?

"I hope you're ready," she announced, "'cause here I come!" After giving fair warning, she charged at him, her ki charged in her hands, ready for anymore surprises Hayate may have had in store for her.

For his part, Hayate began to spin his ki charged umbrella, waiting for his opponent to get closer. He didn't know what her smile was about, but it really left him unsettled. Whether she had something nasty in mind for him or if, for some reason, she was beginning to enjoy their fight, it didn't matter. What was clear was that the longer the fight went on, the more it would favor her. He had to finish her off quickly. Obviously, one of his crescent attacks wouldn't be able to do the job against her, but he doubted she would be able to defend against a large volley of them.

"Time to get this over with!" declared Hayate. "Take this! KIHAKU –"

"SWEETO! COME TO PAPA!"

-WHAM!-

Once again, from out of nowhere, Happousai appeared, bouncing off Hayate's head and, this time, managing to attach himself to Summer's breasts. "Ah...it's just as heavenly as I imagined they would be!"

"AAAAH! Get off me!" screamed Summer. She threw a punch at the old man, but he managed to disappear from her chest before she was able to connect. "Ugh! Where'd he go?"

She got her answer when he reappeared, running between her legs, causing her skirt to fly up and expose her undergarments. "Oh," went Happousai, appreciatively, "Hello Kitty!"

"Gotcha!"

-STOMP!-

Recovering from having his head used as a springboard, yet again, Hayate finally returned the favor, stomping Happousai down to the ground, while he was distracted by Summer's underwear. And for the indignity of the encounter, and for creating a situation where he could have gotten beaten up again, Hayate made sure to dig his heel deep in the old man's back. "Stupid old man."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Summer walked up to Hayate and put a hand on his shoulder. "It looks as though I owe you one."

"Does this mean you'll put an end to this pointless encounter before one of us gets seriously injured?"

"I suppose in this case, I could look the other way while I deliver the old man to the girls. I don't think they'll be too disappointed. Though, I was looking forward to seeing how our fight turned out."

Hayate blinked, "Err...right." Not really wanting to find out where that line of thought would've taken them, Hayate turned his attention back to the perverted martial arts master he currently and literally had under heel. "Alright old man, it looks like you're going back to...what?" Unfortunately, instead of finding Happousai under his foot, he found what looked to be an octopus statue.

"There you are," said Happousai, back on the roof of the vegetable market. He picked up the pair of panties he had left on Hayate's head and rubbed it against his face again. "I was afraid I had lost you, my silky darlings. Now, let's get back home!"

"You aren't going anywhere!" shouted Hayate as he and Summer followed Happousai back onto the roof of the market. "You're going to pay for all the grief you put me through!"

"And I won't let you get away with stealing women's underwear," added Summer.

"Aww, c'mon kids," pleaded Happousai, giving them his fake innocent puppy-dog look. "Can't you let an old man have a little fun in the last few days of life he has left?"

"Not a chance!" roared Hayate, as he charged. He swung his umbrella furiously at Happousai, which the old man was able to dodge easily. Not wanting to be left out, Summer attacked as well, striking quickly with her powerful kicks. Despite their best efforts, however, the two teens couldn't lay a finger on him. Deciding to have a bit of fun while making the two kids look foolish, after dodging a front kick from Summer, he danced around behind her and gave her a goose on the behind.

"Oooh! Nice and firm," said Happousai, critiquing her butt. "Just the way I like it!"

"WHY YOU-" Before she could even get the insult out of her mouth, Happousai grabbed her wrist with the butt of his pipe and using his considerable leverage, he spun her around and threw her back, causing her to collide with Hayate.

"You kids ready to give up yet?" Happousai asked.

"No way!" yelled Hayate, as he jumped back up from his prone position. "Eat this! KIHAKU SETSUDANKI"

Picking herself off the ground, Summer decided to match Hayate's ki attack with one of her own. Doing a spin kick, she charged her ki into her feet, firing an energy projectile, "RANDOUKINGUUKUU!"

The two attacks hit their marks, causing another thunderous explosion that rattled the entire block. When the smoke cleared, Happousai, with skin singed and gi smoking, was down for the count. Seeing their handy work, the two teens puffed up their chests with pride. Finally, they had managed to beat the old man and bring him to justice. "Serves you right for being such a nuisance, you old fool," Hayate said with a smirk.

"You stupid kids," growled Happousai. "Get a couple of flashy moves and you think you're something special." With every word he spoke, his ki grew in intensity.

"Looks as though we made him angry," Summer commented.

"Whatever," Hayate said dismissively. "I've gone a couple of rounds with him before. He's probably going to try using his stupid coconut bomb attack or something. Trust me, he's mostly talk."

"Mostly talk, huh?" the aged martial arts master repeated. "I'll show you who's mostly talk. Evil as I may be, there are a ton of moves in my arsenal that I've dared not to use up until now, because of how horribly destructive they are. But since you kids are so intent on playing with fire, I'm going to burn the both of you good!" The dark, evil ki that danced wildly around Happousai became concentrated and formed a compact orb around his body that was roughly three times his size. "Founding School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Finishing Move: HELL'S JUDGEMENT!"

The supercharged, but compact ball of energy exploded outwards and upwards, appearing as though the devil himself had opened up the ground and blasted a wave of evil spiritual energy towards the stars. As a result of the awesome attack, the combatants were blown clear to the other end of town, while the top half of the vegetable market was completely incinerated. Unable to stand after receiving such a monstrous attack, the remnants of the market collapsed down onto itself, to the horror of everyone down on street level. In the midst of the devastation, the people on the street could hear the storeowner, who was still inside at the time of the collapse, cry out in anguish, "NOOOOO! MY CABBAGES!"

-o-

With a groan, Summer pushed herself up off of the ground. From the look of her surroundings, the impact of the explosion had flung them to the parking lot of an industrial park at least 10 blocks away from their previous position. Doing a self-analysis, she found that she had indeed been burned rather badly. Her clothes were in tatters and she was bleeding from various cuts and bruises she sustained from flying debris. All in all, however, she was fine; which was amazing considering the intensity of the attack that was used against her and Hayate.

Speaking of Hayate, he was lying face down on the ground a good ten feet away. Not yet feeling well enough to stand up, she crawled over to him and rubbed her hand on his back to see if he was still alive. Feeling the touch of her hand on his aching back, Hayate groaned and looked up at her. Seeing that he was indeed alive, Summer let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Using what little strength he had left, Hayate rolled over. "So, did we win?" he croaked.

The girl couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous question. "Does stuff like that happen here often?"

"I haven't been here for very long myself," said Hayate. "But from what I've seen so far, yes."

Summer rotated her right arm, trying to get some feeling back into it. "You know...when those girls recruited me to join their group, I wasn't too sure about it. I hadn't planned on staying here for very long. But after tonight, I've found it quite...interesting. I think I might stick around for a bit longer."

Hayate cocked an eyebrow at her statement. "You sure have a funny definition of 'interesting'."

"So I've been told." Satisfied that her arms were suitably working, she helped her battered one-time opponent to sit up. She favored him with a smile, "Of course, the town wasn't the only thing I found interesting."

Hayate couldn't help but blush at the comment, though it was difficult to notice as it blended in well with all the bruises he was sporting. After clearing his throat, he responded, "We did make a pretty good duo, didn't we? Though, it would have been nice if it had turned out better than it did."

"Well, maybe we'll get another chance? Hopefully, doing something more pleasant?"

"I dunno. If this is how you go about getting to know a guy..."

"Don't worry," Summer went with another laugh. "I promise next time, I'll go easier on you."

-o-

On the opposite side of town, a very bruised and battered founder of the Anything Goes School of Martial arts found himself also face down in the ground. Apparently, the might of the 'Hell's Judgment' attack was so powerful that it created a forceful blowback that even injured the user of the skill. With a cough, Happousai pushing himself off of the ground and shook his head, trying to catch his bearings. "Ugh...now I remember why I never use that technique."

Taking a look at his surroundings, it appeared as though he was in the middle of a forest. The trees looked very strange, though. Apparently, the root of the tree was a very dark color, while going up, the color changed to a more flesh toned. Realizing that his vision had been blurred as a result of his battered condition, Happousai shook his head again, and rubbed his eyes, hoping it would allow him to see properly.

He took another look at his surroundings and found he had misidentified his surroundings. He appeared to have still been in the shopping district, though a few blocks away from where he fought with the two kids. And the 'trees' he saw before were actually legs. To be more precise, they were the legs of the mob of girls that had been chasing him before he ran into Hayate the first time.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here." One of the girls stepped forward with her arms crossed and look of evil intent on her face. It was none other than the leader of the pack, Miyabi Narita.

Seeing his predicament, Happousai decided to use his innocent, puppy-dog face again. "Could you dear, kind girls help a poor, defenseless old man get back to his home?"

Miyabi cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Oh sure. My friends and I would just LOVE to help you. Wouldn't we girls?" The mob of girls that had him surrounded all flashed evil grins of their own.

"Err...on second thought," he stammered, shooting up to his feet, "I think I've troubled you girls enough for one night. I should be able to get back home on my own. So, if you will excuse me..."

"GET HIM!"

"AAAK!"

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

----oo----oo----oo----oo----


	2. A Thorny Issue

Ten years.

The world was so different then.

Ten years ago, a little girl the age of 9 grew up in a house filled with people who loved her...a house filled with people that meant the world to her. Even though it was so very long ago, she could still vividly see the faces of her mother and father so filled with love and joy. She especially remembered her father, a powerful yet gentle man who would carry her on his back every day while he ran errands around their village. And every night, he would tuck her in, telling her tales of mighty warriors with the promise that one day, she would be one of them.

There were problems, of course. What family didn't have problems? And, of course, just like most parents do, her mother and father tried to insulate her and her younger siblings, Autumn and Spring from whatever it was that was causing the trouble. Of course, she could always sense when things got tense. Things worked themselves out, usually and once the trouble passed over, everything was right with the world again. So she never really worried because her parents, especially her father, would always make sure things turned out right.

Unfortunately, what the little girl didn't understand was that things bigger than her father existed in the world. She could tell something was wrong by the look on her parents' faces. They tried to hide it as they always did, but they carried a look of fear on their faces, a look she had never seen before. One night, after her father told her the usual bedtime story, he did something strange. He asked her to keep a secret for him. Willing to do anything for the man she loved, the little girl nodded her head. He procured a large yellow envelope and slid it under her mattress.

"This is your first mission. Make sure you keep this safe. Don't tell anyone about it. Okay?"

"You bet!" the little girl promised.

Her father leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "That's my brave little warrior." And with that, he stood up and he left.

It wasn't until the next morning that the 'mission' her father had given her took on a very real significance, when she found out that her father had been taken away during the night by the village guard. Her mother had told her it was because her father had to go away on a very special mission for the village. But he never returned. Only after many years had passed did she find out the truth about what happened to her father and why.

Now, lying on her new bed, in her new house, in a new town, Summer looked up in the darkness. She was aching all over from her encounter with Happousai and Hayate. But her physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional scars she carried to that day. Her house was empty now and she couldn't remember anytime in that ten-year span that she could definitively say she felt joy. The thoughts of what happened with her father along with that envelope he left behind were never far from her.

But as she told Hayate earlier that night, she found this new town interesting. Even though she got pretty beat up, she had to admit that was the most fun she had in a long time. And Hayate was something himself. She was impressed by his strength and skill. And aside from some rough areas, he seemed like a pretty decent person. It didn't hurt that she found him quite attractive as well. Who knew what could come out of it?

Summer smiled as she drifted off to sleep. Maybe after all this time, she found what she was looking for?

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

A Thorny Issue

-o-

"Thank you! Come again!"

Autumn smiled brightly as her customer walked out of her store. She was amazed at how quickly it became a hit in the neighborhood. It seemed she was getting some good word of mouth referrals from Dr. Tofu, who was a very popular and respected doctor in the community. She would have to send him a thank you for all the business he's been sending her.

Of course, her business had also increased once Spring arrived. Guys of all sorts would swarm in just to get a peek of her in the skimpy clothing she always chose to wear. To be fair, though, there were also plenty of girls that came in as well, to gawk at her intended, Mousse. As far as Mousse went, as long as the girls ended up buying something and would keep their paws off of him, she didn't mind too much.

Speaking of which, Mousse walked in from the back of the store, carrying a box left by a delivery company. Reaching into his robe, he procured a box cutter and opened the package, reveling replacement stock of the various teas and herbs she sold. As he removed its contents and began to inventory them, she couldn't help but stare. She really couldn't blame the girls for doing the same. Every once in a while she would stop and consider just how fortunate she was to have found him.

She couldn't understand why he wasn't taken beforehand. True, he was a bit obsessive, but who didn't have their flaws? All in all, he was quite the catch and she was glad she was the one who managed to catch him. With a great guy at her side and a thriving business in her command, she couldn't ask for anything more. Sure, life had its pitfalls, and Nerima being what it was, trouble was never far away; but taking everything into account, life was definitely good. And though she wasn't as...voracious as her little sister, she was looking forward to when the store closed, so the two of them could spend a little 'quality time' with each other...which would be VERY good.

-Ching ching!-

Autumn snapped out of her daydream upon hearing the chime alerting her to the new customer that walked in. Regaining her composure, she greeted the newcomer, "Welcome to 'After the Fall'. How may I help you?"

The female 'customer' appeared to be around Autumn's age and wore a blue Chinese styled blouse and black leggings. Her hair was put up in two buns on either side of her head, each tied by a pair of blue ribbons. The girl was also rather short. Measuring her height, even if one counted her hair done in the style it was, she barely reached five feet. She bowed slightly to return the greeting. "It good to see you again, sister."

Autumn blinked at being called 'sister'. "Wait a minute...I know that voice. Azuki?"

The newcomer smiled, "Azuki glad to see Summer do so well." She looked at Mousse standing behind the counter and raised an eyebrow. "Who this?"

"This is Mousse," answered a beaming Autumn. "My Fiancé."

Azuki smiled, "Congratulations. He look like fine man!" Her faced reddened. "Maybe Azuki get to know too, to make sure he right man for you, hmm?"

"Ahem!" Mousse blushed and looked away. He just couldn't get used to the new village rules he found himself under.

"So, to what do we owe this visit?" Autumn inquired.

"Azuki here to remind Spring she has mission to complete. Spring's reports not come in for some time and last we hear, she was staying with you. Spring here now?"

Autumn shook her head, "She's out right now."

"Well, make sure you give Spring Azuki's message, okay?" Autumn nodded in compliance. "Good. Also, Azuki was told to give you this." She gave Autumn an ornate green scroll that was tied together by a small piece of taped paper in the middle. "I go now, but we see each other again soon." With that, she walked out.

"Just how many sisters do you have?" asked Mousse, still blushing from the indecent proposal. He took his glasses off and began to clean them. Somehow, they had fogged over.

"Actually, she isn't a blood sister, "Autumn informed him. "She's just from my home village," Mousse shook his head. Seemed like it was all the same, regardless of whether they were related or not. He wondered again what he had gotten himself into. Ripping the binding apart, Autumn opened the scroll and began to read. The further into the text she got, the more her faced dropped. "Oh no..."

Seeing her expression, Mousse became worried. "What's the matter? Bad news?"

"The worst. My village has gone to war..." She turned to her fiancé and gave him a forlorn look. It seemed all the good in her life was slowly starting to go bad. "...with your village."

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

With a heavy sigh, Ukyou made her way to school. It had been around a month since she had seen Ryouga and she couldn't help but be worried. The last time she saw him, she chased him out of town after her duel with Spring. She had to admit, she had gotten very used to him living at her restaurant. She also missed having the help. With he bussing tables and delivering food to the patrons at the tables, it left her free to focus more on the cooking which allowed her to fill orders quicker.

Of course, Ryouga being Ryouga, she still had days where she'd have to handle the restaurant by herself. But whenever he managed to wander off, he would always manage to find his way back after a week at most. This was the longest time he's been away since she let him move in. It was possible that she overreacted when she got the news that they were engaged because of her winning that fight with the lascivious Amazon. It probably gave him the idea that she didn't want him around anymore. She hoped he wasn't off suicide bombing some poor, unsuspecting town.

Then again, wherever he was, he was probably happy to get away from her and the engagement foisted upon them. Okay, maybe she didn't react to kindly to it herself, but to celebrate his escape...did he really hate her that much? After she gave him a place to stay and helped him get his education back on track, this was how he repaid her? That ungrateful jerk! Sure, she didn't exactly give him any reason to like her. And again, her own reaction to the news...chasing him out of town...

She gave herself a bop on the head to knock some sense into herself. Even if he was off someplace partying it up over not having to get married, there was no reason to be upset. In fact, she should be happy as well. It wasn't as if she wanted to get married to the pig-headed fool anyway.

Taking a deep breath, she put on the best happy face she could and walked onto the Furinkan High campus. She wasn't about to let on to anyone that she was feeling down. She was also hoping that if she pretended to be cheerful, eventually, she would be for real. For some reason, though, the results have been less than stellar.

"Ukyou! Hey!" As soon as she walked trough the gate, Akane ran up to her with Ranma casually strolling up behind her. About a week into Ryouga's absence, they have been especially curious about his whereabouts and her well-being. For some reason, they've been connecting the two completely different topics. "Have you heard anything from Ryouga lately?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head.

"Oh," Akane said, dropping her shoulders. "How have you been holding up?"

The chef waved her hand, "I'm okay, really. You don't have to keep asking about it every day, you know."

"We're just really concerned about you, you know,"

"I know, I know. Thank you," said Ukyou with a forced smile. "But it's really not necessary."

"Geez, and here I thought Kasumi was the mother hen." Nabiki walked onto the school grounds unbeknownst to the three conversing teens and interjected herself. "Ukyou's a big girl, you know. She doesn't need you babying her all the time."

"Wow, that you, Nabiki," Ukyou said. "I really appreciate that."

"Just because she ran her boyfriend away and he hasn't been back for a month doesn't mean we have to make such a big deal out of it every time we see her."

"Gee thanks," Ukyou deadpanned.

"It's not just Ukyou I'm worried about," said Akane. "I'm also worried about Ryouga."

"Aw, I don't think we have much to worry about with him," Ranma said to try and assuage his fiancée's concern. "I mean, we haven't heard anything on the news about some town mysteriously gettin' blown to bits, after all."

"Pfft, come on! Who's worried about that?" Ukyou blurted. "It never even crossed my mind!" Ranma, Nabiki and Akane blinked and looked at the chestnut haired chef. Completely missing the fact that Ranma's reassurance was meant for Akane, she looked at the three of them with a confused look. "What?"

Before Ranma could make a retort, he suddenly found his arms bound to his body by a frighteningly familiar ribbon. With a powerful yank, the pigtailed martial artist was pulled through the air and into the waiting arms of the ribbon's mistress.

"Oh Ranma, darling!"

"AAAH!"

"Kodachi," growled Akane. "What in the world is she doing here?"

"To answer your question, I requested her presence." With a start, Akane turned round and found the vaunted Blue Thunder standing behind her. With the speed of Hermes himself, Tatewaki Kuno grabbed the youngest Tendo daughter in a crushing embrace. "Oh Akane Tendo, my love! How my heart does rejoice at gazing upon your visage!"

-BOOT!-

"You'd think he'd know better than to try this anymore," Akane said, seething.

"So what, if I may ask is all this about?" Nabiki asked.

"Hummph rummmph!" the upperclassman answered.

Nabiki looked at Akane, "Er, sis...you can remove your foot from his face now." After grinding her heel into his face for good measure, the younger sibling did so. "Better. Now, you were saying?"

Kuno rubbed his chin, making sure everything was in place, and tried to regain his regal demeanor. "Ahem, yes. I was saying that I invited my sister here because of a rumor that I caught wind of not too long ago. It involves my sister and I greatly, but make no mistake...it is something that could adversely affect each and every one of us!" Just as he made his warning about the consequences for the entire school, thunder crashed in the background, giving the warning a more ominous effect.

"Hey, that thing has some pretty good sound," Nabiki commented to the Kunos' manservant, Sasuke, who was at the front gate of the school with a stereo system playing the sounds of thunder. In response, he rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly.

Kuno cleared his throat to get the attention back to him. "Yes, well back to the point. Given that the situation involves her as much as it does anyone else, I thought it only proper that she be here as well so we could both investigate the manner."

"Well, how 'bout the two of you stop wasting time and get to investigating already?" Ranma demanded while being nuzzled against his will by the upperclassman's younger sister.

"Worry not, my darling," cooed Kodachi. "I'm sure my dear brother is able to get to the bottom of the situation quite well on his own, allowing the two of us to spend some quality time together. I'm sure you heard about the disastrous wedding perpetrated by my mother while she was here. The thought of going through life without you at my side was more distressing than you could believe." She rubbed her cheek against his. Reaching around her back, she procured a bouquet of her signature black roses. "Here, my dearest. These are for you."

Ranma's eyes widened, knowing what was sure to come next, "Oh no!"

Inexplicably, a rumbling caused the school grounds to shake. It started out low, but then began growing in intensity. Suddenly, there was an eruption of dirt and gravel that showered over everyone. Once again, stepping out of the tunnel he dug, Ryouga Hibiki appeared on the stage, making an appearance only he could make. With his backpack strapped on and using his trademarked umbrella as a crutch, he took at look at his new surroundings, trying to get his bearings. "Where in the world am I now?"

"Well, well, look who finally decided to show back up," Nabiki greeted him with a part on the shoulder.

"Huh? Nabiki? Is that you?" inquired Ryouga. "Then, that must mean..."

"Yep," she answered. "You're at Furinkan High school. And just in time too, because someone over there misses you."

At seeing the perpetually lost boy, everything that had run through her mind disappeared. Unable to help herself, Ukyou smiled. There he was, standing in front of her, bewildered as ever, but still alive and no worse for the wear. With a huge sigh of relief and not caring that there was anyone around, Ukyou dropped her book bag and started towards him with her arms outstretched.

-ZING!-

Ukyou stopped suddenly as a single black rose that was thrown like a shuriken imbedded itself into the ground between her and Ryouga. She turned to Kodachi and challenged the gymnast. "Hey! What in the world do you think you're doing?"

For her part, Kodachi paid the okonomiyaki chef no mind. With her eyes sternly locked on the bandana clad martial artist, she gave her ribbon a tug, causing it to unravel which allowed Ranma to fall to the ground with a thud. With what could only be described as a glide, she made her way over to Ryouga and stopped where she threw the rose. Slowly, she looked him up and down, which elicited an audible gulp from Ryouga. Finally, looking him in the eyes again, her features softened and she placed her head on his chest. "My beloved."

"WHAAAAAAAA?" Needless to say, a half a dozen jaws hit the ground.

Spring was nowhere around, yet for SOME reason, that twitch that had afflicted Ukyou's eye for so long had returned. "Just what the hell is the meaning of this?"

Picking himself off the ground, Ranma chimed in, "Yeah! What about me?" Hearing his comment, Akane glared at him. "Er...not that I mind or anything..."

"W-what are you doing?" Ryouga stammered. "I'm not Ranma! Lemme go!"

"I am well aware that you are not Ranma. But I could not forget how you heroically came to my rescue during our failed wedding. After witnessing your manly deeds and experiencing your indomitable strength in person, I couldn't help but regret that the wedding didn't go through." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him in a death grip that rivaled Spring. "Oh, my beloved! I do not believe I can live without you any longer!"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Does that mean you're giving up on Ranma then?"

Faster than anyone could blink, Kodachi released Ryouga and reapplied the death lock of love on Ranma again. "Of course not! My darling Ranma is my first love and I shall never relinquish him!"

"You'll have to do something. It's not right for you to two-time the guys like that."

The gymnast released the pigtailed martial artist and held her hands to her cheeks. "What am I to do? It certainly would be improper to be a two-timer, just as she said. But there's no way I could ever give up my darling Ranma, graceful and majestic steed he is. Yet, what about my newfound beloved, Ryouga; an Adonis to whom the mountains themselves tremble." She buried her head into her hands anguishing over the decision she found herself faced with. Finally, she flung her arms open and, being who she was, made the predictable choice. "I CANNOT DECIDE! I MUST HAVE THEM BOTH!" Kodachi made another dash for Ryouga.

-CLANG!-

With Kodachi's face firmly planted into the ground next to her rose, Ukyou peeled her mega spatula from the back of the gymnast's head. "Humph, serves you right," the chef said with a scowl.

"Feh," went the gymnast's brother, with a shake of his head, "such unseemly behavior. To think one of the noble Kuno lineage would act in such a manner. I simply cannot understand where she learned to behave in such a way."

"I know what you mean, Kuno baby. I can't think of anyone from your family that acts that way either." Nabiki grabbed a water bottle from her backpack and casually strode towards the main building. She took a quick swig and then dumped the rest on Ranma, changing him from male to female.

"Hey!" the female Ranma protested.

"Pigtailed girl! Akane Tendo!" Kuno ran to the two girls and grabbed both of them by the hand. "Come, my loves! Let us run away together!"

-PUNT!-

The two girls watched as Kuno began his ascent into the Nerima sky. But as he reached the perimeter of the school grounds, a bolt of lightening came out of nowhere, striking the verbose kendoist and zapped him back onto campus. "Where in the world did that come from?" mused Ranma. She looked up at the sky and noted there wasn't a cloud in sight.

"Aloha, everybody!" came a familiar voice.

"So...it would appear the rumors are true," Kuno coughed before falling flat onto the ground, unconscious.

Standing on the roof of Furinkan's clock tower stood Principal Kuno, who was wrapped in a dark colored cloak. "Das right, my liddle kahunas! Your beloved principal has returned; refreshed and wid a few new tricks up ma sleeve! Don tink I forgotten de policy of buzz cuts for da boys and bowl cuts for da gals. Dis time, I got a bit of help to handle da problem children, like dat Ranma Saotome!"

"Oh geez," lamented Ukyou. "Not this again."

"What's going on?" Ryouga asked.

"He's going to try and force some stupid haircuts on us," the female Ranma said. "But we stopped him before, and we're gonna do it again!" She used the patented martial arts super jump to leap to the first floor of the school, and bounced back and forth in the corner between the outside wall of the school and the clock tower until she made it all the way to the roof. Ranma extended her leg to give the principal a good kick in the head for his latest attempt at follicle butchery.

Before the strike was able to land, Principal Kuno took a remote control out of his cloak and pressed a button. Behind him, a huge directional electricity generator rose up from out of the school's roof and zapped Ranma with a bolt of lightening, in the same way the principal's son was. As a result, the male turned female landed back to ground level in a smoldering heap.

"Das just one of my new toys to help me handle you kids," Principal Kuno said with a chuckle. "Now, let me introduce ya to my new assistants!" The front doors to the high school opened up and two blurs shot out, surrounded Ranma's prone form for a moment, and then retreated back to the school's front steps.

"RANMA!" Akane called out.

"Uuugh...what?" Groggy form the shock, Ranma put a hand on her head. Her eyes widened in horror as she felt her hair. "Wha...what the?" She ran over to Ukyou, grabbed her mega battle spatula and looked at herself in its reflection. To her horror, she saw that her hair had been parted down the middle and was put in two ponytails that came out of both sides of her head. "AAAH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

"That would be us!"

Everyone that was still conscious looked up towards the entrance of the school. There stood two bald men, both sporting shades and what looked to be barber's clothes. Each wore a gun belt with what appeared to be huge scissors in the holster, along with gigantic combs that were strapped on their backs.

"I am Mr. Pruner," said the man on the right.

"And I am Mr. Shearer," said the man on the left. "And we are from the Cutler's School of Martial Arts Hair Styling!" The group of kids facefaulted.

"You gotta be kidding me!" went Ukyou. "Martial Arts Hair Styling?"

"They may sound silly," said Ranma, "but these guys are no joke. They were so fast, I didn't even feel them doing anything to my hair."

"Das right, kids!" crowed the principal. "Ya take these guys lightly if ya want. You WILL have your hair cut to my standards, and dese fine gentlemen will make sure of it. And don ya tink of escapin' either! Cause my new toy here will shock anyone who tries to leave da school! None of you will escape dis time! HAHAHAHA!"

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

----oo----oo----oo----oo----


	3. Extreme Makeovers

Twirling his umbrella anxiously, Hayate stood at a street corner and waited. He had gotten word that the woman he had fought with before wanted to meet with him. He didn't know why she set this meeting up, or exactly why he agreed to it. Maybe she wanted a rematch so there could be a definitive winner. While they did part on somewhat decent terms, given the insanity of the town, anything was possible. If she did come back looking for a rematch, he was ready.

The scene of their previous encounter was just across the street from where he stood. He had to say, the public work officials were very efficient. While there were still signs of their fight and eventual defeat at Happousai's hands, many of the damaged structures were already repaired. One or two buildings still had some roofing damage, but at the rate the repair teams were going, everything would be fixed by that night. With some interest, he looked at the luminous vests the workers wore and wondered to himself what "N-MARC" stood for.

"Hello. Hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

Spinning on his heel, Hayate found Summer gliding up behind him. She sported a blue version of the Chinese dress she wore during their first encounter. This dress, however, had an opening on the chest, revealing a generous amount of cleavage. He was even more appreciative of her appearance now than he was then. He bowed to her slightly and answered, "Not at all. It's quite nice to see you again."

Summer raised an eyebrow, "You're tense. Do you think I've called you here for another fight?"

"I don't know. Have you?"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

It was Hayate's turn to cock his eyebrow. "Well, that's good to know. So, what would you like to do today?"

"I figured since we were both new to the town, we could just take in the sights together."

"Sounds like a plan." He stretched out his arm for her. "Shall we go?" With a smile, she wrapped her arm around his and started on their tour of Nerima. Her thoughts returned to the previous night and the potential she felt her life now had. She had no idea what would come out of this, but she had the unmistakable feeling that something major had just started in that very moment.

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

Extreme Makeovers

-o-

"Please enjoy."

Shampoo bowed and smiled as best as she could for the customer. Unfortunately, work just wasn't as enjoyable as it usually was. This war business was very troubling to her. She hated the thought of her fellow warriors at home fighting for their lives while she lived in relative comfort delivering noodles. As yet, she hadn't been able to get an answer from her great grandmother about whether they would be returning to China or not to help their village. This only served to heighten her anxiety.

She took hold of the handlebars of her bike and began to walk home, scanning her surroundings as she did so. Even though she wasn't on the front lines, it was clear she wasn't that far removed from the hostilities, as the recent attack proved. Who could her assailant have been? She thought about that girl that Mousse was involved with. From their last encounter, a sneak attack didn't seem like Autumn's style. Besides that, Shampoo was sure Mousse still harbored feelings for her and it would've alienated him if Autumn did anything to her. Still, anything was possible.

Instinctively, the purple haired Amazon began to walk a bit faster. Her eyes darted back and forth across rooftops and alleyways. Ranma, she thought, would have to be notified of what was going on. Since he was officially listed as betrothed to her by her tribe, it was possible that he would eventually be targeted as well.

As she walked, she fixed her focus to her right side. Her keen martial arts senses told her that someone was definitely following her. Ahead of her was a cropping of bushes that marked the end of the block. After that, she was out in the open...the perfect position for an ambush. But there was no way she was going to allow herself to be taken by surprise again. When she made it to the cropping of bushes, she dropped the bike, leapt into the bushes and wrestled the would-be ambushers to the ground.

"Got you! You not catch Shampoo off guard again!" she crowed to her would-be assailants.

"Sister Shampoo! Wait!"

The violet haired Amazon blinked at the familiar voices. "Lin Lin? Lan Lan?" Shampoo sat up to her knees. No longer being pinned to the ground, her maroon & green haired tribal sisters did the same. "It good to see you again, but what you do here?"

"Since we at war, the village elders worry that you here by yourself," Lan Lan explained. "So send us back to help."

Shampoo smiled. "Is first good news I hear in long time. Come! We see Great-Grandmother! I sure she be happy to see you too!"

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

"So, who's first?"

After an idle twirl of his pair of scissors, the man known as Mr. Shearer stood menacingly in the entryway of Furinkan High school with his partner, Mr. Pruner...at least as menacingly as a pair of barbers could muster. With a growl, Ranma undid the ponytails on either side of her head and mussed her hair to get it back to the way it was before. "That will be me," she said. "I'm gonna make you pay for giving me such a girly hairstyle."

For his part, Ryouga tried to keep focus on this new, albeit bizarre threat he was faced with. But he couldn't help but be amused at Ranma's new look. "I don't see what you're so upset about. I think the new look suits you. Besides, it's not that much different from some of the disguises you've made up."

"That's different," went Ranma. "Those were...er...strategic moves to gain advantages in duels. This is just embarrassing!"

Ukyou, who was standing among the crowd, blinked at Ranma's statement. "You mean to tell me that you've purposely paraded around as a girl before?"

"HEY! Can we pay attention to the current situation here?" an irritated Ranma yelled.

"Indeed!" Mr. Pruner removed the huge comb from his back and set it down onto the ground. The sheer weight of the massive grooming utensil created a small crater as it made impact. "Young people these days just have the worst hair. And looking around, I can see a lot of unruly heads. I can see why the principal wants to make the buzz and bowl cuts part of the uniform code."

"I'm surprised he hasn't gotten in touch with us earlier," Mr. Shearer said. "He was right about there being rowdy and disrespectful kids running roughshod over this school. It's about time someone brings these hooligans in line."

"Better than you have tried before, buddy!" said Ranma.

"If you think we're going to let you butcher our hair," added Akane, "you've got another thing coming!"

"Do you have any idea how long it took for me to get my hair to look like this?" Ukyou chimed in. "I like it like this and I won't let anyone touch it!"

"I like it like that too!" exclaimed Ryouga.

Ukyou couldn't help but blush at the lost boy's outburst. "R-really?"

"Yeah. It's about the only feminine feature you have."

-WHAP!-

After beaning Ryouga in the head with one of her textbooks, Ukyou grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. "What did you say, you jackass?"

Ryouga rubbed his head, "I think you've proven my point for me..."

"Alright kids! Enough playtime!" Mr. Shearer cracked his knuckles. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

The okonomiyaki chef released her tenant and unsheathed her battle spatula. "Just try it, honey!"

"Why don't you hang back, Ukyou?" Ryouga asked. "Let me take care of this."

"No way! This has been my school way longer than yours. There's no way I'm sitting this one out!"

As the three teens and two martial arts hair stylists stared each other down, the rest of the student body that was gathered on school's front lawn gave the latest combatants a wide berth so as to not get too caught up in the carnage sure to ensue. There was some question about what kind of damage a pair of glorified barbers could muster, but with Ranma involved, the students knew just about anything was possible.

"You know," Akane said to her sister near the back of the crowd, "Sometimes I wish we could have a boring day at school, just for a change of pace."

"I dunno sis," Nabiki responded. "No doubt adulthood will be filled with boring days. We should enjoy these little diversions for as long as they present themselves." With her mind set on some of her favorite diversions, Nabiki decided to sneak a peek at her downed classmate, but found he was no longer where he landed. Now that she thought about it, his sister wasn't where Ukyou had planted her either. "Huh, I wonder where the Kuno kids went?"

----oo----

Standing on the top of the school's clock tower, Principal Kuno watched the events below unfold. Finally, it appeared his vision of the perfect uniform code would be put in place. His thoughts went back to his latest voyage to the United States to find new residence for his beloved wife, and the events of her visit. The attempted wedding of their children made him realize the fatal flaw of all of his previous plans.

The children under his care in Furinkan High School weren't just stubborn and strong willed, as most teenagers are; but many of them were also powerful martial artists. His wife showed him that the best way to deal with strong martial artists was with strong martial artists. He wasn't too bad himself, but having to face off against the likes of Ranma Saotome, Akane Tendo and even his own son, there was only so much he could do.

It was fortunate that on his way back to his school, he managed to find the Cutler's School of Martial Arts Hairstyling. He had never met anyone so passionate about proper hair styling before. He had to say; even he was a little creeped out by Mr. Cutler's zeal. However, he was assured that the two men sent with him, Mr. Pruner and Mr. Shearer, were Mr. Cutler's best students and, by the little demonstration given on the red-headed girl who tried to attack him, it looks like they won't disappoint.

This time, it appeared that his new uniform code would be enforced and there was nothing the kids could do about it. And thanks to his toy, the Raijin 5000, none of the student body could even leave unless they had his permission. Any that try will get the shock of their life. Originally, this machine was going to be the catalyst of his next attempt at introducing the buzz/bowl hairstyle to the students, but thanks to his wife, he understood that none of his usual schemes would work without the means to subdue the resistance of the stronger kids.

Principal Kuno couldn't help but smile. His wife may drive everyone crazy with some of her antics, but he loved her dearly, and she never failed to inspire him. Once the school calmed down and got back to order, maybe he should go visit his wife again to thank her for the idea and 'celebrate' once again, this time to his success?

"Father! Turn and face us!"

Speaking of family reunions...Principal Kuno turned and faced down his son, Tatewaki Kuno, along with his daughter, Kodachi. "Children! Dis is a very nice surprise! But l'il Dachi, ain you supposed to be in your own school right now?"

"My dear brother had alerted me to your return and had me accompany him to greet you," the gymnast expounded. "Usually, I would care not what goes on in this scholastic institution. However, circumstances have forced me to take this stand against you."

While tapping his bokken against his shoulder, Kuno began to recite poetry, "With the life style,  
the material skill, the difficult chores, and the blessing of the lord Buddha, I will always honor him, for he gave me the greatest gift of all, my pretty hair." After quoting the final stanza, he leveled his wooden weapon at his father. "I will not allow your latest attempt at follicle butchery to succeed!"

With one impossibly graceful motion, Kodachi threw off her St. Heberke school uniform so that only her gymnast tights remained. With her trademarked ribbon in hand, she got into her battle stance. "And I will not allow you to lay a finger on the magnificent locks of my darling Ranma and beloved Ryouga! Their hair beg for me to run my fingers through them, and I refuse to let you take that away from me before I've had that opportunity!"

"Sorry Children," Principal Kuno said. "But ya won't be stoppin' me dis time."

"Say what you will, father," crowed Kodachi, as she charged. "But there is no way you will be able to stop the two of us together!" Procuring a remote control from within the cloak he wore, Principal Kuno pressed the top red button, causing the Raijin 5000 to roar to life. With another push of a button, the electrical generator crackled with energy and...

-ZAAAP!-

Kodachi was stopped in mid stride. Her hair stood on end and her skin was blackened from the lightening strike. "Okay, I stand corrected. Apparently, there is ONE way you'd be able to stop us," she coughed before falling over.

"I'm sorry I have ta do dat to ya," her father said with a somewhat sad look on his face. "But dis is for everyone's own good. I do it cause I love ya!"

"If that's the case, then I think I'd be safer with you disliking me!" the Black Rose commented.

"Feh. Pathetic parlor tricks," Kuno said. "I have to say I'm disappointed. I expected better."

"Come now, Tachi! Yanno your bluster don effect me none," his father said. "Once I zap ya like I don to your sista, you gon get buzzed good." Principal Kuno used the remote control to activate his lightening generator once again. It crackled to life and fired a bolt at his son.

Focusing his energy into his bokken, Kuno's weapon crackled to life in the same way his father's machine did. When the bolt of lightening came into range, he used his infused bokken to deflect the artificially created lightening, swatting it harmlessly away. "As I said, pathetic parlor tricks. These machinations will not work on the mighty Blue Thunder!"

"I see," went his father. "Well, in dat case, I'll just have to do tings the old fashioned way."

In a flash, Principal Kuno thrust his hand outward, hurling an object towards his familial opponent. Instinctively, Upperclassman Kuno dodged the offending object before it landed on his face. But as it buzzed passed his head, he noticed a few strands of his hair were sheared off and fluttered down to the floor. Just as quickly as the object hurtled towards him, it retreated back to his father's hand and disappeared under the older man's cloak. "What manner of treachery is this?" Kuno demanded.

"Ya like, my boy?" Deciding to show off another of his latest toys, Furinkan's principal pulled out an electric hair clipper, with the cord disappearing within the cloak. "I got dis idea from dat Chinese fellow with da white robes. What do ya tink?"

Suddenly, the whole scheme seemed slightly less 'pathetic' than before. With his teeth bared and his grip on the bokken tightened, Kuno charged his father. "YOU WILL HAVE MY HAIR WHEN YOU CLIP IT OFF MY COLD, DEAD SCALP!"

"Dat's the idea, my boy! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The principal paused and thought about what he said. "Well, except for the 'dead' part. I mean, dat would be takin' the matter waaaaay too far, wouldn't ya say?" Snapping out of his revere, he managed to dodge his son's forward thrust a split second before it made impact. While dodging his son's continued thrusts, Principal Kuno retrieved his clippers and counter attacked, thrusting his own arms forward.

This was a counter Tatewaki Kuno knew all too well. The moment he saw his father's hands coming at him, he broke off his attack and leapt backwards. Patting his head, he was relieved to note that he still had all of his hair. His relief quickly turned to anguish when he noticed his weapon didn't fare as well; for it was torn literally to ribbons. "You shall pay for that old man!" Kuno yelled. "And I mean that too! I have your credit card."

"Ova your bald body, boy!" In the time it took for the younger Kuno to look up from his destroyed weapon, the elder Kuno was right there in his face, ready to run his electric clipper right down the middle of the swordsman's head.

"Damnation!" exclaimed Kuno, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

-WHAP!-

Stunned, Principal Kuno dropped his clippers, staggered backwards and grabbed his nose, wondering where in the world did that ball come from. And what was that purple smoke that puffed everywhere when it hit him? "It would seem you have forgotten all about me, father dear," Kodachi said from the spot where she was felled. "You of all people should know that the women of this family aren't to be taken lightly."

"Dat may be true, my l'il lawaine", slurred Principal Kuno. "But don tink dat lucky shot will be enough to put me down!"

"No, father," said the mighty Blue Thunder, as he conked his father on the head with the hilt of his ruined bokken, knocking him out for good. "I think this is quite enough."

----oo----

Down below, the battle was, surprisingly, not going well for Ranma, Ryouga and Ukyou. The trio was breathing heavily and was sporting some rather large bruises. Ukyou, in fact, was leaning on her battle spatula in order to stay upright. In contrast, Mr. Pruner and Mr. Shearer, while winded themselves, weren't breathing as heavily. And they weren't sporting near as many bruises as the three teens were.

The greatest indignity of it all, though, was their hair. Having had them accost her once before, Ranma had managed to keep them from messing with their hair a second time. Ukyou' on the other hand had her usually straight, free flowing hair done up in rigid spikes, not unlike a certain silver haired alien space pirate. Ryouga's hair had been slicked back, making him look much more dapper and his bandanna had been moved down to his neck, resembling a bow tie. As much as he hated it, he had to admit he blushed a bit hearing some of the girls in the crowd swooning over his new look.

"So, children," Mr. Pruner taunted, "are you ready to surrender yet?"

"Are you kidding?" barked Ranma. "We'll never back down to the likes of you!"

"That's easy to say," Ukyou said to her. "But how are we going to turn this mess around?"

"That's a good question," Ryouga remarked. "I can't believe we're losing to a couple of barbers. And the bad part is, I think this whole time they've been toying with us."

"What do you mean?" Ukyou inquired. "They've roughed us up pretty well for just 'toying with us'"

"Well, if they were serious, why haven't they shaved our heads yet?" Ryouga fiddled with his hair. "They've certainly had enough time and opportunities to do so."

Ranma's aura blazed. "Instead of standing here talking about it, let's make sure they don't get anymore opportunities!" Steeling her resolve, Ranma charged the two barbers and launched her revised Chestnut Fist, firing ki blast after ki blast in rapid succession. Following her lead, Ukyou grabbed a hand full of mini spatulas, infused them with her ki and threw them at the teens' opponents.

Deftly, Mr. Shearer dodged all of the mini spatulas, leaving them to slice through the outside wall of the school. Meanwhile, Mr. Pruner retrieved the massive comb from his back and raked it across the ground, creating blades of energy that sliced through the ground, obliterating Ranma's attack and exploding as soon as they hit the pigtailed martial artist. Mr. Pruner said with a smile "Cutler's School of Martial Arts Hairstyling special attack: Sephora's Fang! What do you think?"

"Damn it," groaned Ranma, as she picked herself up from the ground.

"Don't like it?" the barber taunted. His own ki flared to life. "Then try some Afro Puffs!" Thrusting his hand forward, he fired a ball of energy of his own. And since Ranma was too tired and sore to dodge in time, she was hit once again by a concussive explosion that put her down for good. And as a side effect, her own hair had puffed out, resembling an afro.

"Crap! Ranma's down!" exclaimed Ukyou. "What now?"

This was going much worse than he thought. Even though Ranma had warned them not to take the two hairstylists lightly, Ryouga felt that they probably did so anyway at the onset of the confrontation. Now that they were fighting seriously, they had taken so much damage that their effectiveness had dropped dramatically. The way things were going, they were going to lose their hair for certain. He pictured himself with a bald head and saw it as yet another humiliation to pile on top of all the other humiliations he had to endure in the past.

"I won't allow you to embarrass me by shaving my head!" growled the lost boy. The idea of losing the fight and his hair on top of it was enough to trigger his depression attack. "SHI SHI HOUKODAN!"

"That's a mighty fine looking attack you've pulled off there, kid," Mr. Shearer said with a smirk. "Here, why don't you have a good look at it yourself?" Reaching around his back, Mr. Shearer pulled out a rather large mirror and held it out in front of himself and his partner. The Mirror reacted to his aura and began to glow, so that when Ryouga's Roaring Lion's Bullet hit, the mirror absorbed the attack and reflected it back to its attacker.

"Oh hell, MOVE!" The okonomiyaki chef dived on her tenant to get him out of the way of his reflected attack. However, the attack made impact with the ground Ryouga had previously inhabited and the resulting explosion caught the two of them anyway, knocking the wind out of both.

The two barbers stood over the three downed teens triumphantly, gazing with satisfaction at their handy work. Not only were they handily defeated, but they were also given much more interesting hairstyles. Mr. Shearer beamed, "A job well done, wouldn't you say?"

"The job isn't done yet," Mr. Pruner said, unsheathing his scissors.

"Hmm, you're right. It's a shame we have to shave them. They look so stylish, they could do magazine covers now."

"True," agreed Mr. Pruner, somberly. "But this was the reason we were brought here. So, shall we?"

"Alright then," Mr. Shearer said, getting his scissors as well.

"Hey."

Before the two barbers were able to begin applying the Principal's new uniform code, Nabiki Tendo separated herself from the crowd and approached them. "And what do you want, girl? You going to challenge us too?" went Pruner.

"Not at all. I was just going to complement you on what you've done to their hair," she said, looking at the three's altered hairstyles. "I have to agree, they probably could be featured on magazine covers."

"Why thank you," Shearer said, which elicited an elbow to the gut from Pruner.

"Is that it?" Pruner asked.

"Well, I'm pretty close to being finished with school and, since I'll be getting a bowl cut soon, I'll be needing a good hairstylist when I'm finished," Nabiki explained. "So I was just wondering, how much would it cost for me to make use of your services?"

As much as Pruner was all about the current job, he also had a keen business mind and wasn't about to turn away a potential client. "Well, young lady, it would depend on which style you'd like. But our basic services for women start out at around seventy-five thousand yen."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Really? That's the price for women? What about for men?"

"Well, for men, our basic services start around forty thousand yen."

"That's interesting," went Nabiki. "Why the difference?"

"A woman's hair is usually longer, more delicate and more difficult to work with than a man."

"And what about a girl with short hair, like me?"

"Well, unfortunately, it'd have to be the same price, since that is the standard."

"Why is that?" went Akane, walking up behind her sister.

"Huh?" Pruner blinked.

"I've always hated it that it cost me so much to get my hair done!" said a second girl.

A third girl chimed in, "You know, I bet there really isn't a reason why they charge more for girls than they do for boys. They're just taking advantage of us!"

"W-wait a minute! That isn't..."

"GET 'EM!" screamed Akane.

"AAAH!"

With a smile, Nabiki watched as half of Furinkan's student body gave chase to the pair of stylists. It was then that the Kuno siblings appeared. They dropped their unconscious and tied up father down next to the prone forms of Ranma, Ryouga and Ukyou. "So, you managed to take care of your father, ay Kuno baby?"

"Please do not refer to me in that way," Kuno commanded. "But yes, father has been subdued and won't be a problem anymore."

"I have to say, I'm impressed," said the middle Tendo sister.

"Humph. It was never a doubt. When Tatewaki Kuno is involved, success is a forgone conclusion." After patting himself on the back, he took note of the two barbers being pursued by the angry mob of girls. "And what might be going on here?"

"Well, while you were dealing with your dad, someone had to stop the hair cutters themselves. And since our great heroes here," she motioned downwards to the three teens, "weren't able to, I had to take care of things in my own way."

"I see," went Kuno with a scratch to the head. "In any event, all seems well now."

"You know, dear brother," Kodachi interjected, "I have the distinct feeling there was something we forgot to do?"

-ZAAAAAAAAP!-

The singed bodies of Mr. Pruner and Mr. Shearer collapsed onto the ground. In an attempt to escape from the angry mob of girls, they tried to go through the campus' front gate. However, as they approached, a bolt of lightening from the Raijin 5000, which was never deactivated, immediately struck them.

Tatewaki Kuno stroked his chin, trying to think over the sounds of around three hundred girls beating down two barbers. With a shrug, he concluded, "well, whatever it is, sister, its probably not that important anyway."

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

Author's note- "Sephora" is the brand name of a comb maker


	4. Tell Me That She's Not Dreaming

"I don't believe it," laughed Summer. She and Hayate Kurogane spent much of the day exploring the ward of Nerima. After getting some lunch, they decided to call it a day, and Hayate offered to walk her back home. On the way, they saw what appeared to be lightening flashes in the vicinity of Furinkan High school, which sparked a story of one of Hayate's experiences there. "The mailbox turned into a giant robot?"

"Trust me," Hayate responded. "Something like that is much too stupid to make up for a story."

"And that Ryouga guy managed to beat it? He must be something else."

"Bleh. He's nothing special. When we next cross paths, I'll put him down easily."

"I don't doubt it," Summer said with a smile. "I know from first hand experience that you're quite strong yourself. And you haven't made a single overture towards me the whole day. Seems the girls that recruited me got you pegged wrong."

Hayate rolled his eyes. "Try telling them that."

"Maybe on our next date, you will make an overture?" She winked at him. "Who knows where that may lead?" With a wave goodbye, she entered her building.

Returning her wave, Hayate spun on his heel and began making his own way home. As he did so, he scanned the area, checking to see if anything was out of place. He didn't know why, but while he was out with Summer, he had the distinct feeling that someone had been following them. He wasn't sure, but Summer seemed to believe the same thing as he caught her doing the same thing a couple of times as well.

He shook his head. Apparently, they were just imagining things. The town was so crazy, no doubt it just made them jumpy. At the very least, nothing happened to them while they were out on their...

Hayate stopped in mid stride and blinked. "Did she say date?" Recalling the memory confirmed that bit of information. It was then that the rest of her words sunk in and he began to blush furiously.

----oo----

Closing the front door to her apartment, Summer took off her shoes and placed them in the closet, smiling as she did so. That was the best day she had in years. There were moments where she even forgot her troubles and just lost herself in the outing. Hayate was a very engaging individual, more so than she initially believed, even if he was a bit long-winded. He was also something of a stuffed shirt, which made him an easy target for her teasing.

Though, when she thought back to her remark about he making an overture on their next 'date', she knew she meant it. Even though she had rejected her heritage, some of their values were still deeply ingrained in her. She was very impressed with his strength and fighting prowess and her outing with him worked to attract her to him further.

With a deep sigh, her smile dropped. She knew better than to get attached to anyone because she knew she would have to leave soon. Unfortunately, she could actually see a future with this man. She enjoyed the time she spent with Hayate, even when they were fighting. It was done though, and now that she was thinking about it, she didn't think she could bring herself to leave. And to tell the truth, she was tired of always being on the run. Even if a point in time came where she and Hayate were to split up, she still wanted to experience that connection for as long as she could. She wanted a semblance of a normal life.

Maybe it was time to stop running. She was no longer on the Chinese mainland. That being the case, there would be a limit as to who would be sent after her. Maybe it was time to settle down and build roots there in Nerima? Maybe it was time to stand and fight against her pursuers, to finally beat them back and tell them to leave her the hell alone? She was tired of her current life. She was tired of running. She was tired of hiding. She wanted better.

With renewed determination, Summer steeled herself for her first battle for her new life. "You can come out now."

Stepping out from Summer's bedroom was her youngest sister, the ninja Spring. "Hiya," she said with little of her normal exuberance. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has. So, is this a social visit or is there a reason why you're here?" Summer asked as if she didn't know the answer.

"You know why I'm here. I've been sent to bring you back home."

Summer dropped into a defensive posture. "You're welcome to try."

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

Tell Me That She's Not Dreaming

-o-

The school day was finally over. Ranma, a male once again, and Akane were making their way back home. Every once in a while, the pigtailed martial artist would run his hand through his hair, thankful he still had it. He was embarrassed to find when he woke up that he was sporting an afro. Fortunately, when he doused himself with hot water, the afro was easily restyled back to normal. Still the fight weighed heavily on him.

Walking beside her fiancé, Akane could tell that Ranma was not in the best of moods. She couldn't help but shake her head. "C'mon, Ranma. Don't tell me you're sulking over what happened?"

With a sigh, Ranma responded, "How can I not? I got beat."

"It happens, you know. It's a part of a martial artist's life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."

"But I lost to a couple of barbers!" He buried his face in his hand. "How in the world am I gonna live down losing to barbers?"

"And then finding out that you were saved by Nabiki of all people?"

He groaned loudly, "That's the worst part of it all. I ain't lookin' forward to getting back home. I just know she's gonna hold that over my head and force me to do something stupid to pay her back." Just thinking about what she could be plotting sent a chill up his spine.

"Well, don't worry about it. After she's done with you, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you forget the whole thing." She gave him a wink. Ranma blushed. With everything that continued to go on in their lives, it was easy to forget their new relationship status sometimes. All of a sudden, it didn't seem like such a bad thing to get back home.

Before Ranma could audibly respond, his keen senses kicked in, alerting him to an impending attack. Quicker than he could act in his fatigued state, however, Akane shoved him behind her and swung her school bag into the air. He was going to make a comment about her swinging her bag wildly in the air, but kept his mouth shut when he noticed the rather ornate dagger that impaled it.

"That not good. I wanted to see him."

The engaged couple craned their necks upwards and found a woman wearing a blue Chinese-styled blouse, black leggings and light brown hair tied in buns on both sides of her head standing on a power line pole. Gracefully, she leapt down from her perch and landed in front of the other two teens. "Who are you?" Akane demanded. "Why did you attack us?"

"My name Azuki," she said, introducing herself. "And I not attack you. I attack him."

Ranma blinked. "What? What do you want with me?"

"You Shampoo husband, yes?"

"No!"

"You defeat her in battle, yes?"

"Err...yes." He thought for a second. "Three times, actually."

Azuki smiled. "Then you definitely man I looking for!" Shoving Akane out of the way, Azuki charged Ranma with a series of straight slashing strikes. While still able to dodge the strange girl's attacks, Ranma could feel that he wasn't moving as fast as he could normally. He still hadn't recovered from the hair-do ruckus at Furinkan.

The Amazon newcomer launched a roundhouse kick that Ranma, who recognized he was a step slower, blocked and shifted his weight to try and throw her off balance and, if he was very lucky, knock her over. Azuki went with Ranma's momentum and kicked off his blocking hand, flipping backwards. "Not bad. Course, must be good to beat Shampoo, yes? Think you have more fun with Azuki than with her," she said with a lecherous smile. Suddenly, she did another back flip as her finely honed martial artist senses kicked in to alert her to impending danger.

-BOOM!-

Emerging from the huge, smoke filled crater she created, Akane Tendo shot a menacing glare to the Amazon, complete with the monstrous, glowing red eyes. "I don't know who you are, or what your business is with Ranma or Shampoo, but I'm putting a stop to this right now!"

"What're ya doing?" Ranma demanded. Even though he wasn't at his best, he still had his pride as a man. "This is my fight!"

"In case you don't remember, she attacked me too and I'm not going to let her get away with that!" Not to mention, she didn't want Ranma to beat the girl if she was involved with the Amazons in any way. The insanity regarding Ranma and his myriad of fiancées was finally winding down and the last thing she wanted was for it to start all over again.

Azuki shot a glare at the youngest Tendo daughter, "Woman who get in way only good for killing!"

"I've heard it all before sister," returned Akane. "And as you can see, I'm still here." She lunged at the Amazon newcomer and swung her school bag at the brown haired girl's head. Azuki ducked the Tendo girl's first strike and watched as it struck a street lamp and knocked it over.

Azuki was hoping that she would be able to get Akane to stand down by intimidation alone. Judging from her speed and strength though, Azuki figured it would be more difficult than she thought to make good on her threat even if she tried to go through it with. Besides that, she didn't have much time available to her. She wasn't supposed to be out doing this, but she had to see the man who was causing the granddaughter of one of Juketsuzuko strongest elders such fits. Reaching into her blouse, she retrieved three small, dark colored orbs and threw them at the ground with all her might, causing them to explode into giant plumes of smoke.

"*Cough* That no good little..." Akane stopped herself before the expletive escaped her lips. Instinctively, she waved her arms in front of her in a futile attempt to get the smoke to dissipate. What she could not accomplish on her own, the unpredictable weather patterns of home ward did for her, clearing the smoke away that clouded her vision. As she expected, the strange newcomer was gone. Unfortunately, her fiancée was also nowhere to be seen. "Ranma!" she cried, darting her head back and forth to no avail. Somehow in that short amount of time that Amazon must have abducted the pigtailed martial artist.

"Not again!" she said in a panic. "What am I going to do?" She stopped herself and took a deep breath to calm down. Getting frantic wasn't the answer. When it came to fiancée stealing Chinese Amazons, there was only one thing to do. Nodding to herself, she grabbed her school bag and started off towards the Nekohaten.

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

*BOOM!*

Summer leapt out of the newly formed hole that was blown out of her bedroom wall by one of the two copies of her youngest sister that were chasing her. It had been many years since she had left her home village and Summer hadn't seen either of her sisters in that time. Part of her missed them and wanted to see them again. While she had hoped for a better reunion, she was well aware it would turn out like this.

People on the street below scattered as Summer landed expertly on the pavement below with one Spring clone landing in front of her and one behind. She couldn't help but smile, "You've grown, sis. I can't believe how strong you've gotten."

"And you," return Spring, smiling in return. "It's good to see your time outside of our village didn't make you too soft. I wish we could've met in better circumstances so we could have a good sparring match. But I have my orders. I have to bring you back."

"I figured as much. I won't go back, though." Taking a chance to take her eyes off her opponent, Summer glanced back up at her bedroom, where she saw a third Spring clone going through her belongings. It would only be a matter of time before she found that big yellow envelope that their father gave to her before he went away. She had to deal with those two as quick as she could. "RANDOUKINGUUKUU!" Getting on her tiptoe, Summer spun around and fired her Ox Kick at the copy of her sister that stood behind her, striking the ninja clone dead center in her torso, knocking her to the ground in a daze.

With the fight one on one, Summer felt she had a better chance of coming out on top. She charged the remaining copy with a series of open palm strikes in an effort to set up an incapacitating blow with her powerful legs. For her part, Spring simply dodged her oldest sister's attacks, while giving a show of counterattacking. Time was on her side; all she had to do was keep Summer occupied long enough for the third clone to find what the village elder commanded her to.

Inside Summer's bedroom, the third Spring copy searched frantically. She didn't like the idea of having to hunt her eldest sister down, but the village elder who sent her on the mission said that Summer had taken something that, if not returned as quickly as possible, could spell the end of their tribe. Her tribe had been in a cold war with the Joketsuzuko for as long as she could remember and she was going to make sure if that war had ever heated up, her tribe would have whatever advantage it could get to come out the winner.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder what could be of such great importance. Her tribe had plenty of strong warriors. Even if a war did break out, Spring had no doubt that they would win anyway. Something about it just didn't feel right but as a loyal warrior, she put her doubts aside and tried her best to complete her mission. Of course, it would help if she had some idea of what she was searching for.

It didn't seem to make much difference. The bed was overturned, all the dressers were emptied and the closet was ransacked; yet she didn't find anything other than her sister's effects. Before Summer had returned, Spring searched the rest of the apartment and while she did find some strategically placed weapons, no doubt hidden for her to grab in case her home was invaded, she wasn't able to find anything else out of the ordinary. She growled to herself in frustration. She really wished the village elder gave her some more details other than 'you'll know it when you see it.'

The last place to look was the nightstand. She opened the top drawer, finding maps of Japan, India, Australia and the United States; pencils; and bits of paper talking about "pervs", whatever that's about. The bottom drawer was filled with books...dictionaries, language books, books about tourist locations, and one odd looking novel about a girl caught in a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf.

"Damn it!" she shouted, her frustration finally getting the better of her. "What am I supposed to be looking for?" To vent her frustrations, she banged her fist on the top of the nightstand splitting the top of the piece of furniture in two. Upon removing her hand, Spring noticed what looked like an envelope that clung to one of the larger wooden pieces. She ripped the top of the nightstand completely off and saw that the envelope was taped to the top.

After removing the tape and discarding the broken piece of furniture, she opened the envelope. The only thing she found inside was a throwing dagger. It looked to be the same general shape of the daggers they used in her tribe, but it was a lot less ornate and from the dull, jagged blade, was a lot older as well. However, as she held it, Spring could tell that the dagger resonated with energy of some sort. She could feel her body getting warmer as she held the artifact. "This has to be it."

Moving to the large hole in Summer's bedroom, Spring called down to her duplicates while waving the new found artifact, "Hey! I found it!"

"NO!" Cried Summer. What a fool she had been. She knew Spring had been vying for time while her clone was searching for the dagger but she tried to play it safe, hoping one of her regular attacks would've landed and taken her out before it was found. This place was going to be a place where she would finally settle down and make a life for herself and she didn't want to cause too much damage to the area. Besides, it was still her sister. She didn't want to cause any permanent damage. But knowing how important it was that her village didn't get that dagger, she should've gone ahead and used her most devastating attack from the start.

It was too late for 'should haves' now. Using the patented martial artists super jump, Summer leapt towards the gaping hole in her bedroom wall in a last ditched effort to wrest the dagger from the ninja's clutches and make yet another run for it. Unfortunately, the copy of Spring she thought she had knocked out appeared above her and swatted her back down to street level.

Lying in the crater her crash to the street made, Summer cursed at herself for her stupidity in handling the situation. Maybe if she had been willing to use her ultimate attack from the get-go, this wouldn't have happened? Given the aftermath of her fight with Hayate and the old pervert, the town seemed very resilient when it came to the goings-on with martial artists. She just felt that she could have defend her new home and the new life she started while keeping the promise she made to her father so long ago.

"No," she groaned, pushing herself up to her elbows. She couldn't stop no matter the cost. She had to make sure that the artifact stayed out of the hands of her villagers. Looking up, she saw the three copies of her sister had gathered around her.

"Sorry about this," one of the Springs said with a sad look on her face. The last thing Summer remembered was three boots coming down towards her.

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

"I'm back," said Mousse, as he made his way to the service counter of Autumn's shop, After The Fall. "And I brought them like you wanted." Behind Mouse strode in the two newest, albeit reluctant members of their tribe, Ukyou Kuonji and Ryouga Hibiki.

"I heard you wanted to see me for something," said Ukyou.

"Thanks for coming," started Autumn, as she emerged from behind the counter. "And I'm sorry for having to call you in from your business. Unfortunately, a major problem has come up and we're going to have to go back to China."

"Sorry to hear about that," Ukyou returned. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"You are a member of our tribe now, remember?"

"No, I haven't forgotten...no matter how hard I've tried."

"I got news not too long ago that my village has gone to war with Mousse's old tribe. Spring had gotten a reminder of a mission of the utmost importance to my people, which she is taking care of right now. Once she comes back, we're going to be heading home, and you'll have to come along with us."

The chestnut-haired chef crossed her arms. "Trust me, I can sympathize." She turned to Mousse, "No offense, honey, but your have been a royal pain in my butt for a very long time. One person in particular." He only shrugged his shoulders in response. "Still," Ukyou continued, "Just because your people are fighting, I don't see why I have to interrupt my life and my business."

"No doubt Shampoo and Cologne would still be here after we leave," interjected Mousse. "No doubt, more members from my old village have come to back them up. You'd be all alone against who knows how many."

"We've been in battle together before," Ryouga chimed in. "You know what I can do. And you've also seen that Ukyou can handle herself, even against multiple opponents."

"I appreciate the concern," said Ukyou. "But if it's all the same to you, I think we'll take our chances here."

Just as she was about to turn and leave, someone else entered the store. "I back. Spring finish her mission yet?"

"Ah, Azuki," greeted Autumn. "No, she hasn't come back yet, but..." Autumn couldn't finish her sentence as she noticed Azuki didn't return alone. As the newcomer sauntered over to the group, everyone noticed that she had someone slung over her shoulders. Autumn rubbed her temples as she felt a headache coming on. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but who is that and why are you carrying him around like that?"

"Azuki find good husband. Is spoil of war." Happy with acquisition, Azuki gave him a pat on the rear end, which elicited muffled screams of protest. "I go get ready for return trip. Note I give you earlier has all details for trip. When Spring ready, you come." With the instructions given, Azuki turned to leave, revealing to all that her 'spoil of war' was a bound, gagged and quite irate Ranma Saotome. So stunned by the turn of events, Azuki had exited the building and super jumped away before anyone thought to say anything.

Recovering from the shock, Ryouga merely waved and began towards the exit himself. "Well, anyway, enjoy your trip to China, guys."

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Ukyou, grabbing the lost boy by the bandanna.

Ryouga rolled his eyes. "I guess this means we're going to China after all. Great."

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

----oo----oo----oo----oo----


	5. Just A Dream and the Wind to Carry Me

Now this was more like it. Business at the Nekohatan hadn't been affected by Mousse's departure that much, though there were a few girls that weren't stopping by as much as they used to. Still, efficiency had gone down due to their losing a good pair of hands. However, this changed with the arrival of Lin Lin and Lan Lan. Things finally started humming again and the business lost by the girls staying away had been replaced with even more boys.

With the noodles and sprouts cooked to perfection, Cologne spooned it into a pair of bowls and covered them with a specially flavored broth. "Order for table four is ready!"

"I got it!" answered Lan Lan. With expert grace, she swiftly put the two bowls on a tray, carried the bowls out to the dining area and delivered the order not spilling a single drop. They've been working there barely a day and they looked like they've being doing that job all their lives. Both Cologne and Shampoo were grateful for the appearance of the two sisters.

Still, the reason for the girls being there wasn't lost on either of them. It made the war their village was engaged in all the more real. Shampoo had been insistent on returning to China to help fight, but Cologne reminded her that with the sneak attack she endured recently, they already were involved. Cologne felt the same want to return home, but with the enemy there already, it wouldn't be right for them to leave until the enemy that followed them there was dealt with.

"Shampoo!" Not quite the 'enemy' Shampoo or Cologne had in mind, though. With an angry thud, the rival and, though Shampoo refuses to admit it, winner of her would-be-husband's heart, Akane Tendo threw open the front door to their restaurant and stormed in. "You and I need to have a word!"

With everything that was going on, she was the last person on Shampoo's mind. "Akane? What you do here?"

Before Akane could answer, Lin Lin and Lan Lan sprung into action, getting between their tribal sister and the irate newcomer. "You not worry, Shampoo!" Lan Lan said. "We deal with her."

Akane narrowed her eyes, "You two again?"

"That right," returned Lin Lin. "We here help Shampoo against whatever enemy that attack. You want get her?" The two Amazons reached into subspace and pulled out their weapons of choice, a Trident for Lin Lin and a spear for Lan Lan. "You go through us!"

"If you insist." Akane put down her school bag and motioned for the two Amazons to attack. Goaded on by her taunt, Lin Lin and Lan Lan charged with their weapons poised to strike. When they swung their weapons to incapacitate her, Akane grabbed both of their weapons and with her enhanced, half demon strength, threw the two Amazons straight upward. Then with a quick spin of their weapons, Akane threw the spear and trident upward as well, which pierced their shirts and pinned them to the ceiling. "Now then..."

"What you want, Akane?" Shampoo asked with a growl.

"I want you to tell your friend, Azuki, to give Ranma back!"

Shampoo blinked, "Who have Ranma?"

"Don't act like you don't know. Some Chinese girl came at us, looking for 'Shampoo's husband', and managed to take Ranma."

"And just how this girl manage take Ranma from you anyway?"

Akane blushed, "She disappeared in a smoke screen."

Shampoo barely stopped herself from laughing, "You fall for such thing?"

"T-This isn't about me anyway!" Akane shouted, waving her hands in the air. "Look, obviously you're having some Amazon convention here or something." She pointed to Lin Lin and Lan Lan to make her point. "Just have your friend bring Ranma to me and I'll leave."

Cologne spoke out from behind the cook's counter, "I don't know what happened to you, child. But I can tell you with certainty, there's no one in our village named Azuki."

"Oh, and I suppose this isn't a type of weapon you use in your village either?" The youngest Tendo sister picked up her school bag and showed them the dagger that still impaled it.

"Aiya! Great Grandmother! That look like same dagger I find!"

Cologne hopped over the counter on her staff and inspected the dagger. "You're right, Shampoo. It would appear whomever attacked you attacked Akane as well."

Shampoo gasped, "That mean Ranma in trouble!"

"Trouble?" echoed Akane.

"You'd better pay a visit to that girl's shop," Cologne ordered. "I have a feeling she'd know better who that Azuki person is, and where you might find Ranma."

"Yes," said Shampoo with a nod. "I go now!"

Girl? "Wait for me!" shouted Akane, as she ran out of the restaurant after Shampoo.

"Not mind us," said Lan Lan from the ceiling.

"That right," added Lin Lin, "we just hang here with Elder Cologne…"

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

Just a Dream and the Wind to Carry Me

-o-

Shampoo ran with all of the speed she could muster from her well-toned legs. After finally having a reason to feel a little bit better about things, this was the absolute worst news she could have heard. Though, it could've been that there was an attack that wound up with Ranma killed. So it was the second worst news she could have possible heard. Well, he could have also been injured in a way that not even the most skilled physicians of her village could have repaired.

Okay, so it was the third worst thing she could have heard. It was still quite bad. But at least there was a name behind her tormentor now. Azuki. Shampoo didn't know why, but that name rang a bell for some reason. In any event, there was no reason for the girl's actions. If she were a part of the rival village, then the beef would have been with Shampoo herself. Ranma had nothing to do with the war since she hadn't exactly married him. That meant he wasn't officially part of her village yet. Of course, Shampoo thought to herself, some people wouldn't care and would use him to try to get at her. The fiasco with Pink and Link proved that.

That just made things even more urgent. There was no telling what the girl could do with Ranma.

"So when are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Chancing a glance behind her, Shampoo found Akane running stride for stride with her, which she shouldn't have been able to do. Sure Akane was faster than most, but she shouldn't have been able to keep up. Something had happened to the girl recently that Shampoo couldn't explain, but Akane had shown strength that she shouldn't have possessed. She has seen it before, but at the time Ryouga had become a grave threat and she hadn't thought about it since. Now, just as then, a bigger issue had come up and Shampoo wouldn't have time to think about it. But this was definitely something Shampoo would have to be mindful of in the future. For now, she simply answered, "Shampoo not know what you talking."

"Who is that Azuki girl?" She wouldn't have come here looking to take 'Shampoo's husband' unless there was something going on between you."

"Nothing go on. She from enemy tribe and we at war now." Shampoo blinked. What in the world did she tell Akane for?

Akane overtook Shampoo and stopped her in her tracks. "Waitaminute! What are you talking about? What war?

The Amazon sighed. It was her own fault for letting that slip. Akane had nothing to do with what was going on and didn't need to know. But now that she gave that tiny detail, she knew Akane wouldn't be going away. "Joketsuzuko and Yingnucun villages fight as long as Shampoo remember. But recently, great grandmother got word they go to war. Azuki attack Shampoo before. Azuki probably want Ranma as trophy."

The youngest Tendo daughter felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like the idea of getting involved in a full-scale war. Still, her anger over the girl making off with Ranma grew as she heard him being described as a 'trophy'. "So where are you going now?"

"To see Mousse new girlfriend. She from Yingnucun village too." Not waiting for Akane to ask another question, Shampoo stepped around her and took off once again. In her state of panic, it completely slipped Akane's mind that Shampoo, Cologne and Mousse were no longer the only Chinese troublemakers in town anymore. She knew Autumn and her sister, Spring were from a different village than Shampoo, but it was certainly news to her that they were enemies. Figured their hostilities would somehow wind up involving her and Ranma. She started after Shampoo before the purple haired warrior got too far ahead of her.

It didn't take long for the two girls to reach the herbalist store, After The Fall. Unfortunately, the building was shut tight with a note attached to the front door, "Dear Valued Customers; an unforeseen family emergency has come up, forcing us to return to China. We will reopen as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Signed, After The Fall Management."

After reading the letter, Akane rolled her eyes. "Of course. Anything else would've been too easy."

Without a word, Shampoo started back for the Nekohatan. Perhaps she would be getting that trip back home after all.

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

All things considered, the accommodations weren't that bad. The trip to China would take three days by sea, which meant they had a day and a half yet to go. Fortunately, Azuki managed to book passage for them on an ocean liner. It wasn't exactly luxurious, it was only a couple of bunks, a desk and a bathroom one person could barely fit into. But for Mousse, it may as well have been a VIP suite. He shuddered recalling his last trip to China, crammed onto Kuno's rowboat with seven others. It definitely wasn't his idea of fun.

He stretched out on his bunk and rested his head on his hands. He couldn't think of the last time he was able to simply sit and relax in the middle of the day. Working at the Nekohatan, he did nothing but make deliveries all day, or the dishes and sweeping. That didn't change much when he moved on to After the Fall, though he traded doing dishes for keeping track of inventory.

Mousse figured he had to enjoy himself while he could, because everything would be going downhill once they hit land. Deep inside, he knew it was always a possibility he would have to face his old compatriots in battle, but he was hoping that he could avoid it if possible. There were many friends back in his old home, people he cared about deeply that he'd rather not have to cross swords with.

The closest he came was during the brawl not too long ago when Autumn fought with Shampoo and when that passed, he was relieved he didn't have to jump in. Unfortunately, going into this war zone, there would be no way he could avoid combat. Sure he left Shampoo and Cologne back in Japan, but that still left a lot of people. Thinking about what lay before him, Mousse started shifting around. Suddenly, his bunk became a lot more uncomfortable.

Speaking of uncomfortable, "Hey, are you okay?"

Autumn was on the other side of the room, not saying much given how small the room was, with an electric burner on the desk. "Not exactly," she answered, her face turning a light shade of green. "Ugh. What in the world was Azuki thinking, putting us on a ship like this?" Reaching into her well-stocked robes, she put a kettle on the burner and started grinding some tea.

"Sea sick?"

"Very."

"In that case, maybe I should be making that tea for you? In the time I've worked with you, I like to think I've learned a thing or two." And truth be told, Mousse wanted to take his mind off what he was thinking about before.

"I donno," went Autumn, trying to keep things down. "This is one of my 'special' teas, and I don't think..."

Gently, Mousse took her by the shoulders, guided her to his bunk and took the grinder from her. "You know, I've also learned a lot of things from Elder Cologne when I lived with her. I recognize, Bai Mu Er tea, the ancient Chinese remedy for settling your stomach. And I know quite well how to make it. In fact, I had to make it a couple of times for myself."

Autumn raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Yeah. They used me as a guinea pig for testing out new ramen recipes." He recalled a moment when Shampoo served him one bowl in particular. He took a sip of the soup and nearly burned the restaurant down after developing a bad case of dragon breath. "Did I mention I don't react well to spicy food?"

Reassured that her remedy was in good hands, Autumn laid back on the bunk and allowed her betrothed to work. "Ugh...I hope the others are having a better trip than I am."

----oo----

Ryouga was a man that always had a plan. Of course, with his sense of direction and his inability to articulate what was in his heart to the one who stole it, his plans rarely came to fruition. However, in the days since finding out the girl who stole his heart went for his greatest rival, he didn't plan for anything much anymore. Really, what was there to plan for? Of course, even if that weren't the case, Ryouga could say with conviction that he most definitely did not plan on doing this.

Standing on the deck of a slow boat to China following his employer and landlord as she pursued his rival to the aforementioned foreign country after being abducted by one of Nerima's plentiful supply of lovesick Amazon warriors, he had to ask himself just what in the world was he doing there? It wasn't so much the idea of going to China. After all, at some point in the future, he intended on finding his way back to China to relieve himself of the dreaded Jusenkyou curse he was afflicted with. What really concerned him was this war he could potentially find himself in the middle of.

The sun fell onto the western horizon, bathing the sky a fiery orange hue and pointing the way to their destination. What would they find when they reached that destination? Or worse, what would they have to do once they got there? It was an understatement to be sure, but war was serious business. Ryouga was a fighter, but to that point, he wasn't much else. He talked a good game in the past, but he never actually killed anyone. He wasn't able to even on his suicidal rampage, thank goodness. He hoped he wouldn't have to be put in a situation where it was he or someone else. Especially given the fact that since this was a war between two Amazon villages, his opponent would most likely be a woman. Most times, he couldn't bring himself to raise his voice to a woman.

Speaking of women, Ryouga looked behind him as his landlord emerged from below decks to join him topside. He wondered what was going through her mind. As far as he knew, Ukyou never had to kill anyone either. What would she do if she were faced with a literal do or die situation? He prayed that someway, somehow, neither one of them would have to find out. With a sigh, the chestnut haired chef glided over to his side and leaned on the rail.

"Beautiful evening, huh?" she started.

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah. This looks like a perfect romantic setting. Out at sea with the sun painting the sky in such vivid colors..."

Ukyou raised her eyebrow in response. "Well that's the cheesiest thing I've heard all day." Ryouga simply shrugged and went back to looking out at the sea. He was right, though. Under different circumstances these would be ideal conditions for a young couple to spend some quality time together. Under different circumstances. "Well, I just finished looking through the entire ship. Ranma isn't on board."

"It's no surprise," said Ryouga. "We knew that when we started this trip..."

-Flashback-

"Come on! We have to catch her!"

After Azuki left Autumn's store with Ranma in tow, Ukyou managed to get a copy of the travel arrangements for their trip to China. In a last ditch effort to avoid the trip and getting involved in the affairs of the Yingnucun village anymore than they already were, she and Ryouga made their way as quickly as they could to Hinode Pier, one of the sea ports closest to the Nerima ward. If they were able to get Ranma away from Azuki, there would be no need for them to follow.

It was fortunate that there was a metro train station literally right across the street from the pier. The pair bolted from the train car they rode in, leapt down from the elevated train platform to ground level and ran as fast as they could to where passengers would embark on their voyages. Ukyou knew it wouldn't be too difficult to find a ship bound for an international destination, as the ships docked in Hinode usually went only on tours along Tokyo's Sumida River.

Arriving at the pier, Ukyou took another quick look at the travel arrangements. Azuki booked passage on a cargo ship headed for Hong Kong to deliver circuit boards and other technical equipment. From the look of all the ships moored to the docks, the only cargo ship looked to be the one on dock 4. The ship was easily twice the size of the other passenger vessels and there were cranes loading cargo into the ship's hold.

There was an older man, probably in his mid-fifties from the chef's estimation, standing in front of the ramp that lead onto the ship with a clipboard. Other people were getting on and off the ship with a few of them apparently stopping to ask him for something. With the way he gave directions, it was easy to conclude that the man was the captain of the ship. With her tenant in tow to make sure he didn't wander off, Ukyou made her way over to the man.

"Excuse me, sir," she started.

"Yes? What is it?"

"I was hoping you could help me out with something. I'm looking for a girl named Azuki. She booked passage on your ship to China, didn't she?"

"Sorry, I can't give out any information to strangers," he said with a stern look on his face.

"I'm not exactly a stranger." Ukyou showed the ship captain the travel arrangements given to her by Autumn. "We're scheduled to leave on the trip with her."

The captain looked at Ukyou's papers, and seeing they were legitimate, his features changed. "I see, well that's another story. Yes, you're at the right place. The girl did make a reservation for a trip for her and a few others to sail with us to China. We leave within the hour, so you should make sure you're on board by then."

"Actually," Ryouga spoke up, "we were hoping to find her before the trip."

"Ah, I see. Sorry to tell you kids, but the Azuki girl isn't here. You see, about ten minutes before the two of you showed up, she changed her own travel plans and boarded another ship headed to China. If I recall right, she's on that boat over there." The captain pointed to another cargo ship already under way.

"Damn it all, we missed her!"

The captain nodded, "Yep. Can see why she was in a hurry too, what with that young fella she had tied up and slung over her shoulders. Looks like a lovestruck young woman eager to have some alone time with the guy she fancies. Reminds me of how I got married."

Ukyou sighed. "I guess we'd better get packed for the trip to...wait. Your wife tied you up and dragged you off to get married against your will too?"

"Yep. Gives a whole new meaning to being 'tied down' in a relationship, doesn't it?" The Captain laughed heartily at his own joke, then stopped abruptly and hung his head. "I made myself feel sad..."

-End Flashback-

Recalling the events that lead to their taking part in the voyage, most notably the comment by the ship's captain elicited a creeped out shudder from both of the teens. Yet Ryouga continued forward to drive his point home. "You see? You should've known that Ranma wasn't going to be on here. The strange captain guy told us before we even got under way."

Ukyou's shoulders slumped, "Yeah, I know. I was just hoping...I dunno, maybe that it was a trick of some sort just so that she could travel with us without our knowing."

"Huh..." Ryouga turned back to the setting sun. The almost serene expression he had on his face earlier had soured. There was a slight upward lurch from the ship, but with their enhanced balance due to training, they hardly noticed. "You're still in love with him. Even after everything that happened, you're still pining for the guy, aren't you?"

The okonomiyaki chef took a step back and blushed fiercely. "W-what makes you say that?"

"Why else would we be on our way to China now? I doubt you'd go through this much trouble for anyone else."

She crossed her arms, "And you're telling me you wouldn't have jumped if it were Akane that was taken?" Ryouga said nothing in return. With a sigh, she walked over to her tenant and leaned on the rail next to him. "Look, whether I still love Ranma or not makes no difference. He's a childhood friend and I can't turn my back on him. And whether you want to admit it or not, he's your friend too."

The lost boy jumped, "Are you kidding me? What the hell would give you a stupid idea like that?"

"Didn't you tell me some stories about Ranma helping you when you had some embarrassing tattoo on your chest?"

Ryouga blushed, "I never told anyone about that! DAMN YOU RANMA!"

Oops. Looked like she spilled a secret that was to have been kept between Ranma and herself. "Er, the point is that he helped you when you were in trouble. And you did the same when he was hit by Happousai's moxibustion. That sounds like something friends would do for each other."

Ryouga narrowed his eyes. "Weren't you and Shampoo helping each other with that tunnel fiasco?"

Ukyou mirrored his expression. "You just have to make this hard, don't you?"

As the day wore on, the seas they were sailing on grew choppier and choppier. While they were able to withstand the thrashing of the waves before, the ship was hit with a swell so strong that it dipped far enough to stagger the two martial artists, causing Ukyou to fall forward into Ryouga's arms. At that moment, it seemed as though the rest of the world went away, for both of them.

There was one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from doing a face plant on the deck, while the other was firmly grasping the rail so that her savior would be able to stay upright himself. Ukyou knew, however, that even with that one arm, he could snap her in half. He was such a gentle, if slightly unstable, soul that it was easy for her to forget that he commanded such power. A part of her hated to admit it, but that dichotomy mixed with his rugged good looks really captivated her. Being in such close proximity caused her heart to rise into her throat. It didn't help matters that she recalled visions of the times she saw him in less than full attire.

For his part, Ryouga was lost in the chef's blue-green eyes. Many times in the past when he would look into them, he would see into the soul of a cold, calculating individual willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. Warmth and concern weren't things he normally associated with those eyes, but lately they overflowed with those qualities. And currently, the gratitude and captivation they showed mesmerized him. In the time he spent with her, he learned that she was a better person than he gave her credit for.

With another swell rocking the ship, gravity worked to push the two even closer together. There was an audible thump from Ryouga's chest as Ukyou's rubbed against him. That wasn't the only reaction it elicited from him, making him wish she hadn't made that comment about making it 'hard'. It wasn't just her chest that caused him to involuntarily respond the way he did. Her face was but a breath away from his own. This was usually the part where the part-time pig would become all chicken, but the serene environment and the wind blowing Ukyou's hair, giving her the appearance of one of those irresistible female romance leads, a tiny spring of boldness bubbled forth. Ryouga leaned forward tentatively and when he noticed she wasn't pulling back, he decided to go all the way and plant his lips onto hers.

Unfortunately, before there was any contact, a particularly large wave struck the ship, causing the bow of the ship to jerk upward and the young couple to fall backward. Once the vessel leveled off again, Ukyou pushed herself up onto her elbows and shook her head to regain her bearings and wiped the wet, matted hair from her face. She looked down at the black, soaked pig on her lap and without thinking, scratched it on the head.

"Wow...what just happened?" Still blushing, she wiped her brow again and let out a sigh of relief. "It's a good thing that wave hit to cool us down before we did something we'd regret."

From deep within the bowels of the ship, a bone chilling, blood-curdling sound echoed. "BLEEEEECH!"

Ukyou blinked. "Well, it could've been worse."

"Bwee," went P-Chan in agreement.

----oo----oo----oo----oo----

----oo----oo----oo----oo----


	6. Left Me in the Vacuum of my Heart

Ranma tugged on the ropes binding his arms. He had no idea how long it had been since he was taken from Nerima, but it had to have been a good three hours since he arrived at the Amazon village. He made the trip in the cargo hold of a ship with another girl who had also been abducted from Nerima. He hadn't seen her since they arrived, but from the things she said when they spoke, she faced a far worse fate than he.

She had taken some sort of artifact from the village after some incident with her father and the village had been hunting her ever since. If Yingnucun had the same type of crazy items Joketsuzuko had, no doubt it could've created a world of trouble...trouble he, once again, found himself in the middle of.

At the moment, he was locked in a room, likely in a house that belonged to that Azuki girl. When she left, she said that she had to report to the village elders along with that ninja girl, Spring. She did say, though, that when she got back, she was going to do all sorts of perverted things with him, some he wasn't even aware was humanly possible. He had to get out of there before any trouble...or anything else started. Unfortunately, he was tied down quite thoroughly and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't free himself.

With a resigned sigh, he ceased his struggles. There was nothing left to do but bide his time until an opportunity arose to escape.

"Should be thankful for one thing," he said to himself. "At least she put me on a bed."

With nothing else to do, his mind wandered back to the girl who had been kidnapped along with him. Apparently, she was a part of the village at one time as well until that incident she mentioned. What could have happened to make her run away? What could she have taken that was so important that the villagers had to hunt her down the way they did? And what was going to happen to her?

All those thoughts stopped as a new problem presented itself. Ranma began to struggle even harder against his bonds. All of his focus turned to one new, all-important question...who was going to scratch his itchy nose?

-o-

In the center of Yingnucun village stood Caparrone Square, the village capital where the elders met to discuss matters of governance. At the moment, the matters concerned the defector, Summer. The village council was made up of seven older women sitting on elevated platforms, which formed a semi-circle around a central point. The center platform was raised the highest, belonging to the village matriarch.

For her part, Summer stood defiantly before the council. Her arms were tied behind her back and she was flanked on either side by guards armed with spears. Behind her stood her sister, Spring, and the warrior, Azuki.

"You gave us quite a chase, Summer," started the matriarch. "But you couldn't evade us forever, could you?" Summer remained silent.

"Really," went another elder, "did you think you could get away with stealing one of our most valuable treasures?"

"Young Spring, step forward," the matriarch beckoned.

"Yes, elder." Obediently, Spring did as she was told and bowed respectfully to the council.

"I know this must have been a particularly difficult assignment, having to hunt down your own sister. I commend you for a job well done."

"Thank you, elder."

The youngest of the elders, a vibrant woman in her early seventies spoke up next. "Did you manage to find the artifact as well?"

Spring took out the envelope she found in her sister's apartment and handed it to the matriarch. She opened the envelope and removed its contents.

"At last," the matriarch said, taking the item in hand and raising it high for all to see, "Zhu Rong's dagger, our most prized possession, has been returned." She waved over one of the guards and handed it to her. "See to it that this is put back in its rightful place." With a bow, the guard left. "As for you," the lead elder said, returning her attention to Summer, "You're going back to your cell until we figure out what we'll do to you. Until then, we are adjourned."

Without a word, Summer was lead out of the meeting chamber by the two guards flanking her. Once she was away, the other women finally made their way out of the council chamber as well, except for two. The youngest of the elders pulled one of the guards to the side and after making sure they were alone, spoke in a whispered tone, "Opportunity is within reach once again. Get your weapons ready. There's going to be an execution soon."

The guard smiled, "Yes, Mistress Lima."

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

Left Me in the Vacuum of my Heart

-o-

"HISSS!" went Shampoo indignantly.

"Calm down, great-granddaughter," chided Cologne. "True, it's not an ideal situation, but it's the only way we can make the trip."

Shampoo, in feline form, shot a glare in the direction of her unwanted roommate, Akane Tendo, before crawling under the bunk and lying down. The three, along with Lin Lin and Lan Lan were in a small room on the lower decks of a cargo ship that departed from Hinode Bay, sailing towards the shores of China.

The youngest Tendo daughter paid no mind to Shampoo's protests, opting instead to gaze through a porthole out to the open sea. She wondered what she would find herself facing once they hit land. The last time she attempted to rescue Ranma from a similar situation, it didn't turn out that well. Since learning about her demonic heritage, she trained very hard and had gotten noticeably stronger, yet it didn't seem to make much difference when it mattered most. If she had to fight for his freedom again, would it turn out any differently?

"You seem troubled, child," Cologne observed.

"Hmm?" went Akane, snapping out of her daze. "Oh, no. I'm fine."

Cologne raised a wrinkled brow. "This is not the place for you. I told you as much before we left."

-Flashback-

After seeing the sign on the herbalist's front door, Akane and Shampoo raced back to the Nekohatan to relay the news to the Amazon elder. Shampoo had been itching to return to China ever since she learned her village had been plunged into war, but Cologne had resisted. But once she heard that Ranma penchant for getting into trouble likely got him involved, she felt they had no choice and immediately made arrangements to head back to China.

In short order, Cologne, Shampoo, Lin Lin and Lan Lan were on the docks of Hinode Bay, ready to board a cargo ship bound for the Chinese mainland. While Shampoo was aware of the situation she would be facing, she couldn't help but think about the moment when she would rescue Ranma from captivity. No doubt, he'd be so grateful, he would declare his undying love for her and would probably marry her on the spot.

It was so vivid, she could see him as he took her hand, got down on one knee and in front of the entire village, ask for her to become his wife. Despite herself, Shampoo giggled at the thought. "It felt like Shampoo waited whole life for this moment," she said in her daydream. "Of course Shampoo marry you!"

The daydream Ranma stood to his feet, tilted her head upwards and leaned in close. Just as their lips were a hair's breadth apart, he whispered, "Who the hell would want to marry you?"

"What?" In an instant, the wonderful daydream was gone, and Shampoo found her self face to face with Akane Tendo. And for some reason, she was holding her amorous obstacle's hand. Repulsed, she let go and took a step back. "Akane, what you do here?"

Wiping her hand on her blouse and readjusting the bag slung over her shoulder, the youngest Tendo sister answered, "I would think it's fairly obvious."

Shampoo shook her head in refusal, as much as from embarrassment from the earlier incident. "But, you not can come!"

"She's right," interjected Cologne as she hopped towards them on her cane. "This isn't one of the juvenile excursions you kids have gone on in the past."

"That right," added Lan Lan. "This war. Only warriors should go."

"I don't care. If it were me, Ranma wouldn't think twice about it. He'd jump in headlong and do whatever it took to make sure I was safe. I can't do anything less."

"That's easy to say," went Cologne. "But what will you do if you find yourself in the middle of a battle? The warriors you might come against will be as strong as Shampoo, if not stronger. Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

"Yes!" Akane answered without hesitation.

Cologne wasn't so sure, but it was clear that Akane wasn't going to be swayed by talk of the dangers ahead, so the matriarch tried a different tactic. "What of your family? Do they even know what you're doing?"

"They know. I made sure to tell them before I left."

-o-

About an hour earlier, after seeing the sign on the herbalist's front door, Akane raced home and began preparing for her trip abroad, which consisted of throwing a few changes of clothes into an over the shoulder bag. With that, she ran back down the stairs.

Before running out the door, she paused and took a look back. She didn't know when she would be back and wanted one last memory of the place before her trip. It was then that she figured she should tell her folks what was going on so that they wouldn't worry about her. Going to the living room, she found her father and her soon-to-be father-in-law playing a rather intense game of Go. Kasumi, as usual, was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

She probably should have just left without saying anything, given her father's tendency to overreact, but Akane prided herself on being a responsible person. She wasn't looking forward to it, but it had to be done. "Dad..."

"Hmm?" went Soun, not looking up from the game board.

Akane took a deep breath. "Ranma got himself kidnapped again and I think he may have been taken to China, so I'm going there to bring him back."

"Okay, have fun, sweetie," he said with a wave, still intently focused on the game.

Well, that was easier than she thought. "Alright, bye then!"

Not long after Akane ran out the door, Soun smiled and placed a piece on the board. "HA! That's it! Game over, Saotome! You lose!"

"What?" went Genma in a panic. "NOOOOOOO!"

"That's right," gloated Soun. "Looks like you'll have to pick up the grocery bill next month. And with as much as you and your son eat, that's quite a loss!"

"Congratulations on winning the game, father," Kasumi said from in the kitchen.

Soun crossed his arms and smiled, "As much as it will save the family, I'd say we all won."

"I have to say, though, I was surprised you allowed Akane to go all the way to China to rescue Ranma. And all by herself, no less."

The Tendo patriarch blinked, "Let who go where now?"

-o-

Akane crossed her arms, and stared down the Chinese warriors. She had successfully struck down all the roadblocks they had tried to put in her was and was getting antsy to start the trip. "So it's settled, then? Can we finally get going?"

This could wind up ruining the best chance Shampoo has had to win Ranma's heart in a long time. There had to be something that could keep Akane away. She wracked her brain for anything else that could possibly force Akane to stay. She looked at her great grandmother and one final idea popped into her mind. It wasn't much, but it just might be enough. "There still no way you to go. Great grandmother only pay four people to go. Unless you pay-"

-Splash!-

It was fortunate Akane had the foresight to pack a small case of drinking water to take with her. She tossed the emptied plastic water bottle into a nearby trashcan and gave Shampoo a smirk. "There. Now we have four people and one easily concealed housecat ready to go. Anything else?"

"Meow!" went the feline Shampoo, still trying to object.

With a sigh, Cologne relented. "Very well. If you're so insistent, you can go. Just remember we warned you. We'll be going into a war zone and I can't guarantee your safety."

"Time's wasting," said Akane, starting towards the ship. "Let's go."

-End Flashback-

Cologne unpacked a small gas burner, placing it on a dresser and putting a kettle of water on top to heat. The fare she paid was just for passage, so they had to depend on their own provisions. Besides which, Shampoo would need to be reverted back to human form once they hit land, so it was best to be prepared well in advanced. Who knew what they would find once they arrived.

With that small task done, Cologne sat down on the room's lone bed and continued addressing her great granddaughter's rival. "You should have heeded my warning and stayed behind. Now isn't the time to get apprehensive. It's too late for that."

Akane turned to Cologne "You don't have to worry about me. When the time comes to act, I'll be ready."

The Amazon matriarch shrugged, "If you say so, child."

That was easy enough to say, but Akane did worry about how effective she'd be if she had to actually fight anyone. Even after her new abilities manifested themselves, she still hadn't managed a clean one on one victory against anyone she came up against. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but that played hell with her confidence and she was tired of being a burden to everyone around her.

The youngest Tendo sibling returned to gazing out at the open sea, which was set aglow by the moon shining brightly in the night sky. It was a calming scene to be sure. Too bad it did little to quell the turmoil in her heart.

-oo-oo-oo-oo-

"Ah, have I mentioned how much I love land?"

"Yes," answered Ryouga in a tired tone.

"About fifty times already," added Ukyou, rolling her eyes.

Autumn ignored the obvious annoyance from the two Japanese teens. It had been three hours since their ship made landfall and the four teens wasted no time in starting towards Autumn's village. The more distance they put between themselves and the ocean, the more the young herbalist recovered from her seasickness...and the more she made vocal her preference for being on dry land.

Night had caught up with them, however, and while they could see well enough with the bright moon, it was decided the best thing to do would be to make camp and continue their journey in the morning.

With the tents pitched and a fire stoking, Autumn sat down onto the ground and let out a contented sigh. "I love the land, so much."

"WE KNOW!" Ukyou and Ryouga shouted in unison.

"Maybe you would appreciate her saying it if you had to clean up the mess," said Mousse. "Now, if you're done with your bellyaching, we should take this time to eat something before going to sleep. We'll have to break camp and head out before dawn."

"Yeah, yeah," answered Ryouga, waving him off.

Ryouga went about arranging the provisions, while Mousse finished setting up the tents and Ukyou set up the portable cooking equipment. With a lull in the conversation, Autumn decided that was as good a time as any to engage Ukyou.

"Hey, I feel like I need to apologize," she said, sitting down next to the chef.

"Hmm?"

"I know you're new and probably still don't even consider yourself as part of our village," Autumn continued. "Yet here you are in the middle of our war, one you don't know the history of and probably don't even care about."

"Right on every account," went Ukyou with a nod. "Still, you don't need to apologize. If it wasn't this, then it'd be something else."

"Mousse told me about how that little neighborhood seems to be a magnet for insanity."

"In any event," Ukyou went on, "I don't intend on getting too caught up in this war. I'm only here to see to it that Ranma gets back home safely."

"Hmm...that Ranma must be something. I remember seeing Akane and two other girls fighting over him before."

"Those other girls are..." snapped Ukyou. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Those other girls who fought Akane were fighting for a dream that can't come true anymore."

Autumn raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So I guess you were..."

"I was...I am his friend," Ukyou sighed. "Nothing else."

"I see." Judging from the way the chef's face had become crestfallen; Autumn could tell Ranma was a touchy subject. She speculated that Ukyou could just as easily have been one of those girls fighting Akane under different circumstances. She wondered if Ranma was worth all the fuss. If so, she also wondered if Azuki knew what she was getting herself into. But if Ukyou still had it so bad over a guy ostensibly from the past, what about the guy she fought so hard to stay with in the present? Autumn couldn't help herself, "So, what about you and Ryouga?"

This new line of questioning caused a quick change of demeanor in the chestnut-haired martial artist. "W-what about me and Ryouga?"

If the wound from Ukyou's dealings with Ranma was as fresh as she thought, then Autumn would need to handle the inquisition delicately, or else it could quickly turn into a messy affair. "I mean, what is he to you? Just a rebound guy or something?" Very delicate indeed.

Given the argument that lead to Ryouga's near suicidal rampage, the implication cut deep. "Listen, you brought up that huge fight we were all caught in. Yes, the girls were upset and fighting over Ranma, but that was only half of what went on. The guys were fighting over Akane and Ryouga went through a rather rough time of it also. Since then, we've sort of become each other's support system. He works for me, I give him a place to stay and we try to help keep each other half sane. That's it. We're just friends. Nothing more."

That cut to the heart of the matter rather nicely. Sometimes delicate can work wonders. Other times, sledgehammering was best. Autumn gazed over at the perpetually lost boy and looked him over while he prepared the food for cooking. "He certainly is handsome, isn't he?"

"Huh? Oh, well, I guess he's not so bad." As Ukyou recalled on a number of occasions, he wasn't bad at all to look at. Maybe if he had a pigtail...'Dammit, stop that,' she chided herself.

"Even though Spring lost the right to have him as a husband, she still can't stop talking about him." The mention of Autumn's sister made Ukyou's eye twitch. And she thought she got over that already. "It makes me wonder if _he's_ worth the trouble."

Letting irritability get the better of her, the okonomiyaki chef spat, "Feh...not really."

She was very insistent that she and Ryouga were just friends trying to help each other though a difficult time. Yet the mere mention of Spring brought out the green eyed monster in her. Autumn got a mischievous look on her face, "Maybe I should have a go at him just to find out?" Apparently, some of Spring's lasciviousness rubbed off on her older sister.

"WHAT?" went Ukyou, blushing furiously and nearly bowled over at the suggestion.

"I'm asking, of course. You know, after all of this is over. I mean, you say there's nothing between you, but since you are still technically engaged to each other, I have to ask."

"I...you...but..." fumbled Ukyou, trying in vain to form complete sentences. "W-what about Mousse?"

"Hey, if it's a trade you want, that's fine with me. He can certainly help with how tense you are."

At that suggestion, Ukyou's poor brain couldn't take anymore and shut down. Having a bit more fun than she should have, Autumn was going to press forward, but Mousse decided to intervene. "Hey, Autumn, I'm having a little trouble with this tent. You think you could lend me a hand?"

"Um, sure." With her shoulder slumping slightly, she got up and strode over to her intended. She was not surprised to find that he already had erected the tent. "Humph, killjoy," she said with a smirk.

"You should be grateful," said Mousse. "What in the world were you thinking?"

"Whether or not she's ready to accept it, we are tribal sisters now. It seems to me that those two really do like each other, but at the same time are fighting against that attraction. I figured maybe I could nudge her in the right direction. Once there, I'm sure he'd follow." Autumn stroked her chin and glanced at Ryouga again, "And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious."

"Don't."

Autumn blinked. "Don't what?"

"Don't try to play match maker," said Mousse. "If those two are meant to be together, they'll end up together on their own time. Trust me. I know this from past experience. Anything you'll do to try to get them together will only end up biting you in the a-AAAAH!" Feeling a sharp pain, Mousse looked down and found a dart protruding from his rear end. He yanked it out and said to Autumn, "Yeah...something like that..." and promptly passed out.

"MOUSSE!" Ukyou and Ryouga leapt to their feet at the sound of Autumn's shout. Before they could process what happened, a group of fifteen heavily armed women emerged from the surrounding foliage.

One of the women, likely the squad leader, stepped forward and pointed her spear at Autumn. "We were just on our way to pick up an elder coming back from overseas," she said in Chinese. "How fortunate for us that we managed to stumble upon an enemy camp. You were pretty stupid to have set that fire. You lead us right to you." She looked at Mousse. "We even managed to find the traitor. This just gets better and better."

Autumn whipped out a kunai on a chain and twirled it in a circle, cursing their poor luck. They weren't anywhere near the war zone yet and didn't think they'd have to worry about any enemy units. Not only had they been found out but they were also outnumbered nearly four to one...five to one now that Mousse had been incapacitated. Even still, she wasn't about to give up. Obviously the dart that hit him had a poisoned tip, but she wasn't sure if it was just to knock someone out, or if it was lethal. She needed to examine him as soon as possible and for that, she needed to get rid of their assailants. "I'll be damned before I allow you to lay one finger on him."

The woman smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Not far away, Ukyou and Ryouga were trying to figure out what was going on. "So, what do you think?" Ukyou asked. "Maybe it's just a case of mistaken identity and they're really friends?"

"Having wandered here for about a year, I've picked up a few words," Ryouga answered. "Nothing they've said so far has been friendly."

The chef gripped her mega spatula tighter, "Too much to ask for, huh?"

Getting out of the situation alive may have been too much to ask for also, with fifteen armed opponents and one of their number already down for the count. If Shampoo was any indication of how strong the typical fighter from Joketsuzuko was, then this was a fight they would not be able to win. Ryouga didn't like it, but there was only one option opened to them.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"

"NO! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" the squad leader ordered, instinctively protecting her face from the debris created by Ryouga's attack. Immediately, the squad shot off their blowguns while charging into the cloud. However, as the dust began to settle, all that were left was the troop of women along with Mousse, still lying on the ground.

"Sorry ma'am," said one of the soldiers. "It looks like they got away."

"Tch...we can't search for them either. We've wasted enough time here. Four of you will have to carry the traitor back to the village. The rest of us have to keep going if we're going to make our scheduled meeting."

"Yes ma'am!" As ordered, one of the women slung the unconscious Mousse over her shoulders and started back to Joketsuzuko village with three others providing an escort.

The squad leader took one last look at the huge crater. "Who would have guessed that guy knew one of our techniques? I wonder who he was?" She shook her head. She had more pressing matters to attend to. "Let's go!"

-o-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DAMMIT, LET ME GO!"

Thanks to the smokescreen he created, Ryouga was able to grab the two girls and make his escape, leaping from tree to tree. It was made more difficult, however, by Autumn flailing her arms and legs the entire way. Once he figured they were a good enough distance away, he dropped back to ground level and let the girls go.

"Why did you do that?" yelled Autumn, nearly hysterical. "Why did you run away?"

"Maybe you hadn't noticed, but we were way outmatched," Ryouga countered. "If we tried to fight them, we would have lost."

"What are you talking about? I've seen how strong you are! You probably could have taken them all on by yourself!" She fell to her knees. "Dammit, I can't believe we just left him there...we don't even know if he's still alive..."

"Oh yeah, that's right," interjected Ukyou. "These guys are at war now and Mousse used to be with them. Who knows how they treat their prisoners, especially ones that turned against them."

"It's not just that," Autumn said. "There's no way to tell what was on that dart that hit him. If it was lethal, then he probably had just a few minutes before it took full effect. I probably could have treated him before it was too late. But now..."

Ryouga sighed. "Sorry. I hadn't even thought of that. I figured they'd take him prisoner. We could have rescued him later when we had the advantage." He blinked and put a hand on his head. "Still, if you want a sample of whatever it was on those darts, I think I can oblige..." Before he could finish his sentence, the bandana clad martial artist blacked out and fell face first into the ground, exposing another poisoned dart firmly lodged in his shoulder.

-oo-oo-oo-oo-

-oo-oo-oo-oo-


	7. Knocking on Heaven's Door

They had been traveling for about an hour on foot since landing near the Central Ferry Piers in Hong Kong. They came to port not far away from the financial district and Akane couldn't help but be in awe when she took in her surroundings. She would've loved to have been able to stop and look around for a bit. However, Shampoo, in a particularly icy manner, reminded her of their important mission.

In that hour of travel, they left the bright lights of the city and entered the darkened wilderness of the Chinese mainland. Cologne was concerned due to the fact that there was supposed to be an escort waiting to take them back to their village, but they never showed up. In all of the time Akane had known Cologne, the only time she ever knew the old matriarch to get this concerned was when Ryouga went on his suicidal rampage. For someone so powerful and so experienced to be disturbed to this extent hit the youngest Tendo daughter hard.

Maybe they were right? Maybe she had no place here and had gotten in way over her head? Unfortunately, it was far too late to be having second thoughts. More to the point, there was no way in hell she was going to allow Shampoo to be the one to rescue Ranma. Maybe it was petty on her part still. After all, Ranma made his choice and has stuck to it. But this was a unique situation, and Ranma, to her knowledge, had never been the kidnapping victim in need of rescuing.

She imagined Ranma in a dank cell down in some rat-infested dungeon, chained to the wall with his kidnapper gloating over his capture. Suddenly, an outside door burst open, and a figure leapt into action, making short work of the captor and breaking into the cell. That figure was Shampoo, clad in one of those fantasy Amazon Warrior armor sets that don't really cover much. With a flick of the wrist, she snapped the chains and allowed Ranma to fall into her arms.

"You okay now, Ranma. Shampoo here."

At that point, Akane ran into the room and she saw the two of them together. "Oh Shampoo," she heard daydream Ranma say, "thank you for coming to save me. I don't know what I was thinking, choosing that useless Akane over you. You're the only girl for me."

Seeing that she was too late, the dream Akane could only close her eyes and scream, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

When she opened her eyes, she noticed the rest of the group traveling with her in reality staring at her. Apparently, for the last part of her daydream, she forgot to use her inside voice. Unable to bear the weight of their gazes, she stammered defensively "W-what?"

As everyone turned their attention back to their journey, concluding that the youngest Tendo girl was simply going crazy, Akane tried to expel the image in her mind. There was no way she was going to allow that to happen. Doing her best to steel herself for what was coming, she swore she wouldn't choke; that this time, she would actually come through and show Ranma and everyone else that she wasn't useless. She also swore that if anything remotely similar to that daydream happened in real life, it would be a long, painful return home for both of them.

"Wait," went Cologne, suddenly stopping.

"What?" inquired Akane. "What's happening?"

"Not good," Lin Lin said. "We already surrounded!"

Well, that didn't take long. It looked as though Akane would get her first sample of the action early. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her bag and adopted a defensive posture. This would prove to everyone, most especially herself, that she was ready for whatever was to come.

"Elder." A green haired woman in a dragon emblazed armor stepped out of the dense foliage and bowed to Cologne. Almost immediately, ten more female warriors appeared from the forest and likewise bowed in respect to the matriarch.

"Fu Yung," Cologne started firmly, yet with a hint of relief. "You're late. I expected the escort to have met us at the harbor."

The woman identified as Fu Yung blinked for a moment, wondering why the village leader was addressing her in the Japanese tongue. When she noticed the foreigner among Cologne's group, her confusion deepened, but instead of asking questions, she responded in kind. "My apologies, elder. On our way to meet you, we stumbled upon an enemy group and engaged them. We managed to take one of them prisoner, but the others got away. Somehow, one of them even knew one of our secret techniques."

Cologne raised a wrinkled brow. 'Don't tell me more of those little fools got themselves caught in this,' she thought, knowing that there were only two outsiders that had knowledge of any techniques from her tribe, one of which was already held captive by the other side. She shook her head, "Very well. Let's get back to the village. I suspect we have much to catch up on."

"At once elder," Fu Yung responded.

As much as she wanted the opportunity to prove herself in battle, Akane had to admit, it was a relief knowing this was a friendly encounter. Hopefully, the rest of the journey back to Juketsuzuko would be uneventful. It had been a long day, and a long trek was still ahead of her group. It would be good to get a little rest. Besides, she knew she'd have more than her fair share of opportunities to prove her mettle in the not too distant future.

-o-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Love and War

Knocking on Heaven's Door

-o-

Frantically, the experienced herbalist worked together the ingredients that would be able to combat the toxins running through her friend. With the small amount of equipment she always kept on hand in case of emergencies, she was able to quickly identify the poison coursing through Ryouga's veins as the sap from a plant the various village members called the Dragon's Tail plant.

Left untreated, the sap would eventually cause all of his vital organs to shut down. Death would be unavoidable, unless she was able to quickly concoct an anti-toxin. With the addition of a few easy to find herbs, she could use the fruit of the Tiger's Fang tree to make an anti-toxin that would dilute the effects. He'd be in pain for a few days, but at least he'd be able to live through the ordeal. It was fortunate she had some on hand. It was unfortunate that, with the bulk of her equipment now in enemy hands, there would be no way for her to make anymore, should they need it, as the Tiger's Fang was only found in Japan.

The fruit had to be ground up and mixed thoroughly with the other herbs in order for the effects to be most potent. Unfortunately, she found it difficult to concentrate. Her eyes kept misting over and her mind wandered.

"C'mon Autumn, keep your head in the game," she said to herself, wiping her eyes. The paste was almost complete, so that was a particularly bad time to lose focus and make a mistake. There was one more ingredient that would be necessary for Ryouga's treatment; hot water. None was on hand, but there were plenty of streams to get fresh water. The bad part was the need to put the water over a fire. Given their previous run-in, it was a risky move, but as things were, they had little choice in the matter. The water itself was warming in a metal pail, as her kettle was lost in the ambush.

Behind her, Ryouga was lying on the ground, his head propped up on Ukyou's lap. For his part, Ryouga was in bad shape. He was drifting in and out of consciousness and his breaths were shallow. The okonomiyaki chef was faring about as well as Autumn herself was, finding it hard to keep her composure. To keep Ukyou from letting her feelings of helplessness over the situation drive her into hysterics, Autumn gave her the job of talking to Ryouga, making sure he stayed awake.

"You really are an idiot. You know that, right?" Maybe that wasn't the best idea. At hearing the comment, Autumn chanced a peek over her shoulder. Ukyou had a sad smile on her face and she was lightly stroking Ryouga's bandanna covered forehead. "You're kinda like Ranma in that respect," she continued. "You always think you have to carry the burden by yourself...to take all the hits. We can handle ourselves, you know. You don't have to keep doing this to yourself."

Ryouga's eyes fluttered open. "Comparing me to Ranma, huh," he croaked. "You sure know how to make a guy feel better. 'Sides, seems like you needed someone watching your back."

Ukyou laughed. "Careful. Watch a girl's back like that and you might give her the wrong idea."

Weakly, Ryouga reached up and took her hand. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For being here. I always figured I would die lost God knows where and alone. I'm glad you're here with me."

"D-don't talk like that! Autumn's gonna have her cure ready for you soon! You're gonna be okay, you'll see." His weak grip on her hand slipped as his hand fell to the ground and his eyes slowly closed. The tears began to stream down the chef's face. "Dammit Ryouga, you're stronger than this! You've battled all sorts of magic and monsters and you've always managed to come through! Don't let some stupid needle beat you! I swear if you die on me, I'll kill you!"

Time was up. If she didn't administer the anti-toxin right then, it would be too late. She poured the warmed water from the pail into the cup she ground the medicine in and went over to the couple. "Quick! Have him drink this before we lose him!"

Frantically, Ukyou snatched the cup from the herbalist's outstretched hand and, in an effort to make sure Ryouga swallowed its contents, nearly shoved it down his throat. "Drink it!" she demanded. "LIVE, DAMN YOU! LIVE!"

"No! Stop!" yelled Autumn as she grabbed Ukyou's arm, trying to pull her away. "You're gonna cure him to death!"

-oo-

The night started to give way to morning and after what seemed like an eternity, Ryouga finally began to rest comfortably. Ukyou propped his head upon her lap, while Autumn checked his vitals. The near hysterics the chef was in over the welfare of her tenant ebbed seeing the features of the herbalist soften.

With a slight nod, Autumn started putting her equipment away. "It seems as though the worst is over."

"So he's going to be alright?"

"I can't say that yet. He won't die, but he'll need to see one of our healers to ensure complete recovery. And I suggest we get going now. There's no telling when we might be found by another enemy patrol."

Ukyou nodded solemnly. "If speed is a necessity, then carrying him like this won't do…he'll slow us down. You wouldn't happen to have any cold water on you, would you?"

"Er, sure..." Reaching into her robe, Autumn procured a small bottle of water and handed it off. She blinked as Ukyou opened the bottle and poured it over Ryouga, changing him from the large male she always knew into a small, black piglet.

With little piggy Ryouga securely in the crook of her elbow, she motioned to Autumn, "Okay, let's go."

"Right." She was wondering if the request for water was Jusenkyou related, and her suspicions were confirmed. From strong man to small, almost helpless animal; it seemed Ryouga and Mousse had a lot in common. Mousse...she managed to put him out of her mind so she could focus on saving her patient. Now that he was out of danger, thoughts of her intended flooded her mind. She hoped beyond hope that somehow he managed to survive his ordeal.

-oo-oo-oo-oo-

Darkness.

There was nothing but the darkness, one blacker than any he had ever experienced before...and considering he was all but blind for most of his life, that was really saying something.

"Hello!" he called out. The void was so dense, that it seemed to envelop his voice to the point he could hardly hear it himself. It was painfully clear that wherever he was, he was alone and no one would be saving him.

He took stock of everything that happened to try and piece together how he got to where he was and, hopefully, figure out a way to leave. He recalled being on a boat and someone being seasick. He remembered being in the woods talking to someone, then a searing pain in his rear end. Focusing in on that pain, he found a familiar looking dart...a dart his people used in covert attacks...one known for how lethal it was, even to many outsiders, thanks to the poison from the famed Dragon's Tail plant. And he was shot with one.

So that was it. That explained the nothingness.

Mousse was dead.

The realization sapped the strength in his legs and he collapsed onto his knees. How could he be dead? He always saw himself either dying an old man surrounded by loved ones, or in the heat of battle. To die the way he did...the only thing that would've been more humiliating would've been if he had his pants down to his ankles at the time. After all the indignities he had to endure in life, he finally thought things were starting to look up. Now, not only was he dead, he died in a horribly foolish way to boot. It seemed the universe itself enjoyed his misfortune.

With a resigned sigh, Mousse got back to his feet. "Even at the end, life stunk," he mused to himself. "I guess that's over with now, though. So...what now?"

As if answering his question, a speck of light appeared in the darkness in front of him. He blinked, "Well, that's convenient." Seeing that no other points lit up in the void, he started towards the light. As he got closer and the point of light got larger, he was able to make out a figure standing in the center. He noticed the figure appeared to be a nude female with very familiar looking long, purple hair. The most distinctive features of this figure were the two luminescent wings on her back. She reached out her hands, beckoning him onwards, and without a moment's hesitation, he broke into a full-speed run. Upon reaching her, he tentatively reached out and took her hand. It was surprisingly tingly to the touch, and it sent waves of warmth throughout his body.

"Mousse," she said, her soft voice echoing in his ears. With her free hand, the figure cupped his chin and guided his face towards hers, which was still obscured by the light behind her. "Your long journey has come to an end." She gave him a kiss on the lips that traded the warmth in this body with a pleasant jolt of electricity. Surely, this had to be heaven.

Breaking the kiss, the figure motioned for him to follow her. "Come," she said. As she did, the light subsided allowing Mousse, for the first time, to see her face...Cologne's face. "Your eternity awaits."

-oo-

"NOOOOOOOO!" Mousse's eye popped open and he jolted upward, panting heavily and sweat drenching his face. Instinctively, he patted himself on the chest. Feeling his pounding heart, he laughed to himself. "I'm alive? Ha! I'm alive! Ugh, thank goodness too! I couldn't tell if what I saw was the way to heaven or hell."

Of course, that begged the question, if not heaven or hell, where exactly was he? He sat back up and took a good look at his surroundings. It appeared to be a girl's bedroom. It was a bit of a mess, with books and various articles of clothing scattered all over, save the bed itself which he was laying on. In the opposite corner of the room, right next to a closet door, was a desk topped with more books and pieces of paper, some scribbled on, others erased so many times the paper was torn through.

What troubled him the most were the picture frame and test tubes that were also on top of the desk. Standing up, Mousse had to steady himself, his balance not having returned to him yet. With unsteady feet and a new heaviness he never felt before, he made his way over to the desk, never taking his eyes off the picture. The room seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. The test tubes really had him worried, though, and he feared the picture would confirm his worst suspicions.

He picked up the frame and his mouth fell agape. It was a picture of him at the age of eight, sans glasses. Next to him was a girl, also eight years old, sporting short, light blue hair with fiery red tips wearing an apron over her clothes with her arms wrapped around his.

"Oh no! I-it can't be..."

Just then, the door to the bedroom opened and in walked the girl from the picture. Her hair was the same, only now it reached her shoulders. She wore a Chinese styled dress, very short, though she wore a pair of black leggings to cover her exposed legs. She also wore goggles, which she kept up in her hair. She looked at Mousse and cocked an eyebrow. "So, you're finally awake, hmm?"

Mousse gulped audibly, "L-Lei La?"

With stern eyes trained on him, the girl, Lei La, closed the door behind her, walked up to him and eyed him up and down, making him noticeably uncomfortable. Before he could even register what happened, she leapt into his arms. "MOUSSE! You've finally come back! I always knew you would! Well, I didn't always know, there were some times when I honestly thought I'd never see you again, but here you are!"

"Lei La! Wha...what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? I live here, silly! You should know. You've been over here many times. I mean, sure, it's been a good five years since you were here last. You remember that, right? It was that time when-"

"Wait, wait! Slow down a minute!" He put her down. Only one minute with her and he already felt worn out. "So I'm back in Joketsuzuko? I guess I was brought back here when that patrol found me. But, what happened? I thought I would at least be in a prison cell or something."

Lei La beamed, "Oh, you were in a prison cell. I found out that the escort group that was going to meet an important official coming here had run into an enemy group and brought a prisoner back, one that was shot with a Dragon's Tail dart. They were just gonna let that prisoner die, and I was like, yeah, go our gals! Serves those jerks right! But then I found out it was you and I just had to do something! So I had you brought over to my house and I cured you!"

She was going so fast, Mousse could hardly keep up. He did pick up a couple important bits of information, however. "You cured me?"

"Yep! A lot has changed since you left the village! I mean, I used to be such a disaster. Remember the time I turned that cat into a five-headed dragon? Everyone was running and screaming and it destroyed so many houses by coughing up those flaming hairballs. Oh man, that was hysterical! But I got a lot better at what I do and now, I'm a full fledged alchemist!"

"An..." Mousse paused. Remembering that unfamiliar weight that made him unbalanced, he looked at his rear end. "Is...is that a TAIL?" Indeed, what appeared to be a lizard's tail was protruding from the small of his back.

Lei La watched as he accidentally knocked over her desk chair with his new appendage. "Oops, looks like the antidote I made for you has a couple of side effects that I didn't anticipate. But that's okay. As long as you're in my custody, I'll have time to figure out what went wrong and you be just fine in no time."

Ah yes, there was also that bit of information that he wondered about. "What do you mean, 'your custody'?"

"Well, they weren't just gonna let you go free, since you're a part of the enemy village now, so I had to take responsibility for you. That makes you my prisoner and I can do anything that I want with you now." She gave him a sly smile. "Anything."

That stopped Mousse cold. Heaven or hell would've been much more preferable. With his current predicament, there was only one way he could think of to respond. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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-Author's Note

Sorry for the long delays between chapter uploading, but I'm also an artist with backed up commission orders and, most importantly, I also help take care of my mother who is fighting cancer. I'm writing as quickly as I can so please bear with me. ^_^'


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